Jurgen Klopp praises Christian Pulisic after friendly display
13 Aug 2018
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has praised the qualities of Christian Pulisic after the teenager starred for Borussia Dortmund during their recent comeback triumph over the Reds. Klopp’s side took an early lead during their International Champions Cup game against Dortmund and they went into the break with the advantage.
However, they could not capitalise on their chances following the interval and this eventually saw them succumb to a 3-1 defeat. Following the game, Klopp spoke highly about the potential of Pulisic, who changed the complexion of the friendly with two second-half goals, he said: “He's a fantastic skilled boy, and it's not a surprise to see.
“He's a smart player, and unfortunately, the USA needs more of these players. He alone cannot do it all.On a day like this you have to stay strong and show desire, greed to keep going. But then Dortmund scored a second and then a third . It was too much. We have to learn off it and go again. That's it.”
Pulisic has transformed into an influential player for Dortmund over the past couple of seasons but this has attracted interest from several elite clubs. Nevertheless, the United States international has decided to remain grounded and he has recently cited his ambition to develop further with BvB before pursuing a big challenge elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have suffered the first major dent of their pre-season but they are still without their attacking trident of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, who are expected to feature at some stage of their United States tour. Aside from this, the Reds may have to compensate without one senior defender for the Premier League opener with Joel Matip sustaining another muscular injury.
The Cameroon international has had the history of picking up niggles which has hampered his progress and he has now suffered a minor muscle tear on his leg which could keep him out for around two weeks. Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Ragnar Klavan are presently the senior central defensive options at hand with Dejan Lovren still on a vacation.