by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp knows improvements need to be made quickly after admitting most of his players weren’t on top in the win against Leicester.
It took two own goals from hapless Wout Faes to overturn the 1-0 deficit after some particularly weak defensive errors and only Thiago Alcantara could leave the field at half-time knowing he was close to the level expected.
There was a second-half recovery, with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold stepping up to his defensive duties, but with Brentford – who have already shocked Manchester United and Manchester City this season – arriving on Monday, Klopp knows who can’t afford another day off.
“The result is obviously very nice, but we all saw the game and it wasn’t our best performance, we know that,” he said.
“We had some good performances, really good performances, but most of it was not on top, let me put it like that, and that’s why it can happen.
“When it’s only 2-1 against a good opponent, then you have to fight. That’s what we did and I’m happy about it, but obviously we have to play better.
“Now we only have two days and we don’t know exactly who can go again and stuff like that. But Brentford has the same situation.
“I’m in a really good moment, I think. I watched a lot of the Tottenham game (a 2-2 draw on Boxing Day) and a lot of things went really well.
“I haven’t seen anything of the West Ham game yet (a 2-0 win) but I will watch that too.
“And we’ve had our issues with the way they play back then, so we need to make sure we’re ready for that. That’s all I’m concerned about right now.
After a run of six wins in seven games in all competitions immediately before the World Cup break, Leicester returned to action with successive Premier League defeats still leaving them just four points above the bottom three.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has been given a boost, however, with playmaker James Maddison set to return earlier than expected from a knee injury which saw him not play a single minute for England in Qatar.
“He’s had good news from the scan, which is good for us,” he said.
“Hopefully we won’t have any reaction and can then rejoin the training group. We have to be aware that it will be eight weeks since he last played a match, but having that quality takes the team to another dimension.”
