Jurgen Klopp has continued his war of words with the wind in England, saying it is “an enormous change” from Germany.
Klopp has overseen eight wins and five draws in his 16 games since being appointed Liverpool manager in early October, with particularly memorable victories over Manchester City and Chelsea.
The Reds, who were 10th upon Klopp’s arrival, could rise to 7th in the Premier League with a win over Sunderland on Wednesday, but the German admits he continues to struggle with the weather “here on the island”.
“The English game is not faster than the German game,” he told Bild. “Perhaps there are a few more sprints. But there is a different style of football here, partially due to the weather.
“We have extreme winds here on the island, which do not exist in this form in Germany. You have to play simple here.
“An example is the first Stoke goal against Man United. For players that don’t come from here, it’s an enormous change.
“You have to adapt to that. Here there are much more fights for second balls, more challenges in general. The game is more intense.”
Klopp has previously bemoaned the heavy winds in England, making the following comments after beating Swansea 1-0 at Anfield back in November:
“The wind was crazy because it changed all the time. For both teams it was really difficult.
“In this time you cannot take this game and say ‘This is how football should be’. Wind is the biggest enemy of football but we did okay.
“Players can usually play better passes but it is not easy.
“This wasn’t our best performance but it was our best performance in a strong wind.
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