Klopp: Liverpool did not intend to humiliate Bournemouth in record 9-0 thrashing

Jurgen Klopp insisted Liverpool did not intend to humiliate Bournemouth in their record-equalling 9-0 Premier League win while calling for his team to rediscover the consistency that has turned them into perennial title challengers.

Klopp’s men came into Saturday’s game at Anfield under pressure having started the season with draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace before losing to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

But they returned to form in incredible fashion at home, tying a record win first set by United against Ipswich Town back in 1995.

Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino both scored twice, the latter involved in five goals, while Harvey Elliott, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Fabio Carvalho also found the net for Liverpool, who received a helping boot from Chris Mepham when he scored an own goal under a minute into the second half.

It was a remarkable response to the questions raised about Liverpool after a defeat at Old Trafford in which they were uninspiring going forward and wretched at the back.

And Klopp could understandably not have been more delighted with his team’s resilience.

“We wanted to show a reaction. Be ourselves. Getting to be the best version of ourselves. We play a specific way,” Klopp said in quotes reported by BBC Sport.

9 – With today’s 9-0 win against Bournemouth, Jürgen Klopp celebrated the biggest ever competitive win of his managerial career. Record. #LIVBOU pic.twitter.com/IdiCqapanz

— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) August 27, 2022

“We scored wonderful goals. The game settled and we kept scoring. It was about keeping going. Not to humiliate Bournemouth, we couldn’t respect them more. It’s about putting the opponent under pressure.

“I could bring on the kids, they deserve it so much. Harvey is a special player, wonderful goal. Everything was perfect pretty much.”

Next up for Liverpool is the visit of a Newcastle United side who entered the weekend unbeaten, and Klopp is anticipating a more testing contest after coming up against non-existent resistance fromt the Cherries.

“Wednesday [against Newcastle] will be different,” Klopp added. “Today the mix of great weather and fantastic football, we don’t have that often at Liverpool so we should cherish it.

“At least we don’t have to answer the question anymore [about not winning]. A really good day for us. We won’t get carried away.

“If we want to be successful in this league, we have to show consistency. That’s what we have to do now. That used to be our strength. We’ll watch Newcastle tomorrow [Sunday, against Wolves] and see what we can do against them.”