Saturday 11 December 2021

Chelsea wins his trip
Klopp celebrates when he visits the Liverpool icon

Two German coaches celebrate victories in the Premier League: While Thomas Tuchel has been part of a scene with Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool narrowly wins in the guest appearance of club icon Steven Gerrard.

German coach Jurgen Klopp with Liverpool and Thomas Tuchel with Chelsea remain close to Premier League leaders Manchester City. The Reds beat Aston Villa 1-0 (0-0) with training from Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard. Chelsea won a lucky 3-2 (1-1) victory over Leeds United through a penalty kick in overtime.

After a poor, weak first half at Anfield and some boos at the break, Liverpool increased the pressure after the break and became increasingly dangerous. But against the desperately-willing guests, Klopp-Elf needed a penalty kick to take the lead. After Liverpool star Mohamed Salah was dropped by Tyrone Mings, he made the same mistake in the 67th minute with a penalty kick.

Klopp welcomed Gerrard, who appointed him youth coach at Liverpool in 2017, thus making the start of his coaching career possible, with big words before the match. “Yes, I totally think so,” Klopp responded when asked if Gerrard could one day replace him as coach of the traditional club. “Everything Stevie has dealt with so far looks good and is going completely in the right direction,” explains a former Mainz resident and adds, “To be honest, I don’t see any scenario in which I would be involved in that decision. But who knows what the future will bring? We’ll see.”

Chelsea – with German Football Association professionals Antonio Rudiger, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner at the start – initially fell back at Stamford Bridge in London due to a penalty kick from Ravenha (28). Mason Mount (42) and Jorginho (58) with a penalty kick that turned the match before Joe Gilhardt (83) equalized for Leeds. When everything looked like a draw, Chelsea got another penalty kick, which Jorginho (90 + 4) converted again.

With their narrow victory, Liverpool and Chelsea are aligned with leaders Man City. The football champion had previously beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 (0-0) and tops the English Premier League table with 38 points after the sixteenth round. Liverpool is in second place with 37 points. Chelsea led by Tuchel are third in the table with 36 points.