Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool’s resounding Merseyside derby triumph was the best performance he’s seen his side deliver at Goodison Park.
Virgil van Dijk sustained a season-ending injury which sparked the unravelling of Liverpool’s Premier League title defence on their last trip across Stanley Park, but the Reds righted a few wrongs with a 4-1 victory this time around – their biggest at Goodison since 1982.
“It was, for sure, the best performance we’ve shown since I’ve been at Liverpool at Goodison,” Klopp said.
“We’ve had some good games here but not as good as tonight; never as calm as we were tonight, we were never as convincing as we were tonight. That is why we won the game, I’m really happy about that.”
The German claimed Wednesday’s performance was the latest example of how Liverpool have evolved under his watch into the ruthless force which can rise to any occasion.
“Since I have been at Liverpool, we have had to learn how to play these kind of games,” Klopp added. “We had to learn to play at Old Trafford, learn to play at Goodison, and tonight we showed we’ve taken a big step in our development, and that is really good.
“It doesn’t mean anything for the future, but it shows this is our benchmark, this is the level we have to reach to overcome these teams.”