Liverpool could have stopped Eden Hazard’s superb solo goal at Anfield, according to Jurgen Klopp, who backed his players to keep the in-form Chelsea man quiet when they meet again at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard tore through the Reds’ defence to score an 85th-minute winner in Chelsea’s 2-1 EFL Cup victory over Liverpool on Wednesday but Klopp claimed the Belgium international is not unstoppable.
Both sides go into Saturday’s game with unbeaten Premier League records this season and Klopp said he knew what to expect from Maurizio Sarri’s men.
“We all know we could have defended that goal he scored,” Klopp told reporters. “We had three challenges. If one 100 per cent challenge is made from four or five [possible challenges] then Eden Hazard can’t do what he did.
“But he used the situation, both players were in doubt. We never want to do that. We need one for the challenge and two for protection.
“He did score – I respect that – but no player is not defendable. We have to make sure we close the right spaces.
“A couple of years ago we played Chelsea with [Diego] Costa and Hazard playing as two strikers, and I know exactly how good he is.
“That night it felt like we could defend all of them but not him. He’s a special player who enjoys these one-on-one situations.
“I didn’t need that [EFL Cup] game to know about Eden.”