Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has refused to get carried away after his side’s win over Bournemouth at the weekend, coupled with Manchester City’s defeat at Chelsea, sent them to the summit of the Premier League.
“It’s December, it’s not even Christmas,” Klopp said in a press conference this afternoon. “The season ends in May. We will not get carried away with it. We know our way and that’s the way we will go. The league is not too important in this moment, we play Napoli.”
The Reds face the Serie A side in what could potentially be another historic night at Anfield tomorrow, knowing a 1-0 win or a win by two goals would see them through to the knockout stages of the competition.
But what of a future on the peninsula for Klopp himself when his time on Merseyside draws to a close? He didn’t seem convinced when asked about the president of Napoli saying he had previously approached the German with a job offer while he was at Borussia Dortmund.
“I still have a 3-and-a-half year contract here. I’m not sure whether anyone will want me after that. I love Italian food but I don’t speak the language. De Laurentiis [the Napoli president] is quite chatty.”
Those 3-odd years could be quite eventful ones, too, if the ones just passed are anything to go by, and another European adventure to rival last year’s could be set into motion with a victory over Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
Klopp has already called on the club’s fans to give a hostile reception to their guests for the night.
“It would be really cool if the crowd was on its feet, it’s a big one and our people know that. I know they will already be warming up,” he said earlier this week, via the Liverpool Echo.
“We know how big the atmosphere can be and hopefully we see that. We did everything we could to qualify for this tournament again and we know we have a chance to go through with specific results even though this Champions League campaign so far was not really ours.”