Jurgen Klopp praises 'perfect' Liverpool after their 2-0 victory over Tottenham

Jurgen Klopp lavished praise on "perfect" Liverpool after they defeated Tottenham 2-0 on Saturday (11 February) and paid tribute to "outstanding individual performances" from captain Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino. Liverpool had not won in the Premier League in 2017 prior to the clash with Spurs but a brace from Sadio Mane helped the Reds finally get back to winning ways.

Klopp's men are now up to fourth in the Premier League and lie just one point behind Mauricio Pochettino's side. The former Borussia Dortmund boss knew the Reds had to improve after recent results and was understandably pleased with what he saw from his players.

"It was how we have to play against Tottenham," Klopp said. "We had to show a reaction and it was perfect. It was an outstanding performance offensively in the first half, and defensively in the second half."

Liverpool could have easily added to the scoreline during the first half but were denied by last-ditch blocks or their own profligacy. Despite that lack of ruthlessness in front of goal, Klopp still saw fit to lavish praise on Brazilian striker Firmino, whose performance he singled out for praise.

"We could have scored again," the Liverpool boss added. "There were some outstanding individual performances. We understand it is a situation that we have to go through together. On a physical level there were some brilliant displays from Henderson, Wijnaldum, Firmino — my God, I don't think I've seen a better performance from a striker without scoring."

Liverpool will now hope they can build on their victory over Tottenham when they face Premier League champions Leicester City on 27 February at the King Power Stadium. Tottenham will simply have to dust themselves down, but can take their mind off domestic matters when they face Gent in their Europa League round of 32 clash on Thursday (16 February).