Jurgen Klopp says it is not logical to be focusing on the mistakes of last season as he gets ready for the beginning of another season with Liverpool.
The Reds manager says he was upset after being eliminated from his team in the Champions League final to Real Madrid in May. The loss occurred a week following the time his team were narrowly beat in the race for victory in the Premier League title by Manchester City in just a single day.
His focus now is on the forthcoming season, which starts this Saturday when the Merseysiders take on City to win the Community Shield at Leicester’s King Power Stadium.
“It took me a day and then we had a parade in Liverpool and I was fine with everything,” said Klopp whose team enjoyed FA Cup and Carabao Cup victories to commemorate.
“We were aware, of course, that it was a close call. If you’re not lucky, in certain moments, these events (happen). This is part of the game and we’re willing to accept the rules.
“One point more is sufficient after 38 matchdays. one goal is more than enough to win a football game. We are also aware of that which is why it was not a big deal for me.
“What did I conclude from the final season? don’t think it makes much sense to imagine this.
“We played at an incredibly high level, we were consistent, we played good football – not always but very often. We fought hard. These are all things we need to do again.”
One of the biggest changes at Anfield during the summer has been the resignation of Sadio Mane.
Senegal forward signed with Bayern Munich after a highly-successful six-year tenure on Merseyside where he was a winner of his share of the Champions League and Premier League as well as scoring 120 goals over 269 games.
“Of course, we have had a little change in our team. We lost Sadio, who was a fixed line-up player for six years,” Klopp declared.
“But it’s always this way. We can’t stay together forever. We must change things and when Sadio arrived and informed us he was ready to tackle an entirely new challenge since it was a good time to do so (in the transfer timeframe) we accepted it.
“So we had time to prepare for that situation and that’s what we did. And now we have to find togetherness again. That’s completely normal as well.”
Liverpool has spent a record-breaking PS85 million in order to replace Mane in the form of Darwin Nunez from Benfica and the Uruguay international may start his career this weekend.
The club also has high expectations for another summer signing with Fabio Carvalho. He is a 19-year-old player who came from Fulham for the initially PS5 million.
Klopp added: “He’s a technical player. He’s incredibly creative and we will have a lot of fun with him, definitely.”