Klopp about Alonso: – I understand that he wants to do it this way

welcome

National team football is finally over, and now we can finally look forward to an insanely exciting start to the season.

The first hurdle on the road to the Premier League title is Sunday’s home game against Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton side.

Does Klopp get questions about the Italian? What about the injury situation? We will probably get the answer to most things when the Liverpool coach is in place around 2.30pm.

Xabi Alonso choice to stay at Leverkusen

– I can talk about being a young manager in a successful club. I did about the same as him (in Mainz) and I never regretted it.

– Xabi is doing a great job there, and it can look like the team is staying together as well. This is not always the case.

– I understand that he wants to do it this way.

Damage update

– Curtis (Jones) is back in training, but I don’t know if he will be ready for Sunday. Ibou (Konate) had an extra rest day, nothing else. Robbo, we take it day by day. He’s not training today, but it’s not too bad. It looks pretty good actually.

– Several of the other boys will participate in parts of team training from next week. They are not too far away, and everyone is taking their steps. It is positive. Darwin (Nunez) did a little rehab this week, partially trained day one. Now he is in full training.

The meeting with Brighton

– We are going for three points, that is 100 per cent certain. But we know how difficult it is against Brighton. Roberto (De Zerbi) is doing an incredible job there. There are always unusual games against Brighton. Now we have improved since we met them here 18 months ago.

– I mean Roberto’s first meeting was against us, and we didn’t know what to prepare for. Then he really impressed me, because his team was already playing his way. Since then they have only gotten better.

– We need a really, really good atmosphere, while at the same time we need to understand what we need to do. Among other things, it is about keeping the ball, because we must have more possession than in the last games against them.

– This is not a normal match, they play against our rhythm, so we have to break down theirs. It will be interesting to watch and I’m really looking forward to it.

– Now we have put ourselves in a position where we are fighting for all the points. If you had told me last summer that we were going to fight with City and Arsenal, I would have signed up straight away. Now there are no more national team breaks, so that means everyone can focus 100 per cent on club football.

Brighton’s style of play

– I couldn’t coach that team. It goes against my personality, but they are crazy fun to watch. It is a demanding style of play, so credit must be given to the manager.

– They are interesting to look at, and I like it. They play in a slightly different way (than City), with more structure in their positional play. City has more freedom. If they have their day, they can beat any team. We can do that too.

The title match

– We just have to give it our all and ignore all the talk (in the media). It’s like that in match after match. We have to dig deep and push on in every game.

– All matches are challenging, and everyone needs luck with injuries. We haven’t had it yet, but hopefully the boys will be back soon.

– We have found our way of playing, and before the games against City and United, we played some of the best we have done this season.

Alonso, expectations of former players

– I don’t think you can compare it (with me). Leverkusen is very impressive, and it’s not like he has built on something that was there before.

– He has created a mentality, a very special mentality. You can’t start talking if it’s too early or too late (to take the next step), I don’t know. Everyone has their story.

Get players back

– We need everyone back. We have to get through this period step by step and the boys will come back. But they won’t have time to find the rhythm again, they just have to deliver.

– It starts with the defensive game, counter-pressure and then getting into the rhythm. These are our finals, although that doesn’t mean you can’t lose. We just have to not rush and try to win games after three minutes. We have to play as normal.

– After 28 games (in the Premier League) we have learned how to play, so we have a lot to go on. I have also received many good answers to questions that did not exist early in the season.

Stefan Bajcetic’s long injury layoff

– He partially trains with the U21 team. Next week he will train fully with them, before he joins us again. He’s put on some muscle, so everything looks good.

– His football intelligence comes completely naturally, so he hasn’t lost anything, but the rhythm is something else. Conor Bradley didn’t need long as he was out for a while. He (Bajcetic) is a smart kid, so I’m guessing he’ll do well, but what do I know?

– I almost forgot that he had played for us this season, because since then everything has gone wrong. But this is undoubtedly good news.