The 48-year-old's side were superior in every department against their rivals and could have won by a bigger margin on Thursday night leaving their manager thrilled
Jurgen Klopp enjoyed Liverpool’s domination of Manchester United from "the first second until the last" in their 2-0 Europa League victory at Anfield.
Thursday night’s encounter was the first time English football’s great rivals faced off in continental competition with a Daniel Sturridge penalty and Roberto Firmino strike handing the Reds a huge advantage heading into next week’s second leg at Old Trafford.
The hosts pressed and probed relentlessly, and if it was not for the brilliant display of David de Gea, the last-16 tie would have been over at the final whistle.
Liverpool could easily have been victors by a 4-0 scoreline, and Klopp was delighted with his side’s work in and out of possession: “It was good, from the first second until the last,” he said.
“There were a few minutes in the second half where we lost a little bit of control, so we changed the system and again needed a few minutes to adapt to the new system. Then we were back in the game and in control again.
"It’s not too important how you play against Manchester United, it’s always difficult to avoid chances. [But] there wasn’t really a lot, so that’s one of the best things about this game.
“Our game in the first half, we had more chances and could have scored more goals. But that’s how it is in football. We forced one goal with a perfect pass in the box. In the second half, scoring the second goal was very important.
“We did it and it was absolutely deserved. It was a great performance from the first until last second. It is only the first leg, we know that, but we needed to win and we did. "That’s great. Now one week until the next game – we know it is not easy but we are in a good position and we want to go to the next round. “For that, we have to play like this again in Manchester.”
- Goal