Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen has hailed Jurgen Klopp’s influence at Anfield and he believes that the former Borussia Dortmund coach is ‘already a hero’.
Liverpool secured their place in the knockout stage of the Europa League courtesy of a 2-1 win over Bordeaux last night.
Following time-wasting by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, Les marine et blanc were awarded an indirect free-kick and Henri Saivet opened the scoring from it.
James Milner equalised five minutes later from the penalty spot after striker Christian Benteke went down inside the box.
The Belgian then scored from near the edge of the box in stoppage time of first half.
relatedNewsStory
The French side pushed for an equaliser in the second half, however, they could not break down a resilient Liverpool backline.
The Reds went to the top of Group B with the win as leaders Sion lost away to Rubin Kazan.
Owen feels that Klopp has been ‘hitting the right notes’ with the Reds fans and the brand of football played by his former side is loved by them.
Speaking in his role as a pundit on BT Sport, Owen said:“ He's already a hero in these parts. They [Liverpool] haven’t really caught fire at Anfield just yet, but the results since he has taken over have been an improvement.
“They are doing well and have now qualified for the next round of the Europa League.
“They are about to creep up the league as well, in the Premier League and a lot of what he’s saying around these parts is just hitting the right notes with the Liverpool fans, because I think they like him, a manager when they listen to him doing these interviews with a bit of humor, bit of humility and he’s got those things.
“And I think he’s a big hero already and I think his style of football is going to be loved around these parts.”
Despite the positive result, the Anfield outfit have been hit with another injury scare as striker Daniel Sturridge, who had been recovering from a swollen knee, has damaged his foot. However, the extent of the injury is not yet known.
Klopp’s side host Swansea City on Sunday and will be looking to secure a win as they look to close the gap on the top five.
