Simon Mignolet will ‘100 per cent’ start for Liverpool in next match, says Jurgen Klopp

Simon Mignolet
Simon Mignolet was not in the Liverpool squad for the visit of Arsenal Credit: AFP

Jurgen Klopp says Simon Mignolet will ‘100 per cent’ return as Liverpool’s number one in the club’s next fixture, but he is likely to continue a rotation policy this season.

Klopp surprisingly left Mignolet out of his squad for the Arsenal victory and explained he wanted to keep his players mentally fresh for a lengthy campaign.

Loris Karius kept a clean sheet, and it is likely there will be similar decisions throughout the season given the manager’s belief in the quality of both stoppers. Mignolet will be selected against Manchester City on September 9.

“One hundred percent Simon plays against City,” said Klopp.

“Intensity for a goalkeeper is different. It is not physical. It is mental. We said before the season we wanted to have three really strong goalkeepers. Simon is a clear number one. He won the race in pre-season. You can always rely on him.

Simon Mignolet 
Simon Mignolet has not always been entirely convincing at Liverpool  

“I told him yesterday and it was not that he gave me a hug and said thank you boss I agree with you, but I wanted to do it and give him this rest and have Loris in this game. Loris did a lot of good things. He was sometimes too cool but we all need to get used to playing football in close situations. He did a good job and I am happy with this.”

For the second time in four days, Liverpool’s were breathtaking in attack. It is that consistency that Klopp found most satisfying as he looks for his side to maintain standards at home and in Europe.

“We played an outstanding game against Hoffenheim and today we did the next step because we did it again,” he said.

“We need to learn we can do things like this every three or four days. We wanted to show it today and prove it ourselves and be spot on from the first second. We wanted to show our ambitions against a very strong side. The performance was perfect and the result is the result of the performance.”

Loris Karius
Loris Karius replaced Mignolet against Arsenal

With Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana still injured, Liverpool’s squad looks more equipped to cope with significant absentees.

“If you miss too many you have not chance but we never think about who we miss,” said Klopp.

“We all know we cannot line up the same eleven for five or six months so we need to have opportunities to change. The players all looked so positive in training after the Hoffenheim game I thought ‘come on let’s try again’.”

Klopp also reserved praise for Joe Gomez, who is excelling again after a lengthy injury absence.

“Joe needed time to come back into shape,” said Klopp.

“It was a sStrong performance. I said to him after the game welcome to adult football because that was adult football. Really hard and physical.”

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