Liverpool 1-0 West Ham: Jurgen Klopp gave a cameraman the slip at FT
It was far from a vintage performance from Jurgen Klopp’s men, but Liverpool ground out a crucial 1-0 win over West Ham on Saturday evening to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester City.
The Reds took the spoils thanks to a first-half strike from Sadio Mane and, overall, deserved their victory.
However, West Ham came mightily close to ruining the script on a number of occasions as David Moyes’ side spurned a number of gilt-edged chances to draw level.
Only Manuel Lanzini will know how he managed to blaze over with the goal at his mercy in the second period – and Pablo Fornals should also have done better with a close-range opportunity of his own.
If Liverpool are to stop City from retaining the Premier League title this season, they’ll undoubtedly look back on Saturday’s triumph as a key moment.
“We could have done better. We did pretty well first half, but in the second half if you are not better, you need quick legs, big heart and passion and that’s what we needed to get the result,” Reds’ boss Klopp told BBC Sport after the match.
“In the end it was open, we needed a bit of luck, but you cannot win as many games in a row as we have without a bit of luck.”
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Klopp may have been fairly measured in his post-match comments, but fan footage taken after the final whistle captured just how much the win meant to the charismatic German.
After such a significant win, Klopp’s iconic fist pump celebration was always going to make an appearance in front of the ‘Kop’
Before going to celebrate with the home faithful, though, Klopp decided to have a bit of fun with the cameraman who had been instructed to follow his movements by television producers.
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Feigning as though he was going to simply make his way off the pitch and down the tunnel, Klopp cheekily dropped his shoulder and sprinted away from the lens.
The camera operative was left flat-footed as the beaming Liverpool boss unleashed his trademark ‘Yes, yes, yes’ salute in unison with thousands of Reds supporters.
You can see the moment that the cameraman was left red-faced below.
Klopp's fist pumps, featuring a quick drop of the shoulder to ditch the cameraman 👊🏽 pic.twitter.com/5QLAdiTMeN
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) March 5, 2022
Fans on Twitter also enjoyed Klopp’s piece of post-victory banter and here’s the best of their reaction to the clip.
What a video 👌. Lovely drop of the shoulder there 👏 #Klopp #LFC https://t.co/QAhRr48S7z
— Taylor (@TaylorBrown98) March 6, 2022
the agility and the acceleration… https://t.co/DEGNdjVkQP
— pat (@lfcpxt) March 5, 2022
How can you not like this man?😂 https://t.co/NVdJcNZHhr
— Famous (@Famous_Anfield) March 5, 2022
My man slipped like Mayweather https://t.co/vqw6SKeuu2
— Ω (@Mmbrs0nly) March 5, 2022
Deceptively quick like myself. Big Jurg https://t.co/jRgunHynrC
— John O'Brien (@Manner_14) March 5, 2022
The win took Liverpool to within three points of Man City at the summit of the Premier League table. With 11 games to go, those on the red half of Merseyside will be hoping we see many more Klopp celebrations before the end of the season.
Liverpool 1-0 West Ham (Reaction via The Football Terrace)