The Reds host Marco Silva’s side at Anfield on Wednesday evening in the first leg of their semi-final tie.
Lijnders previewed the clash by answering questions from reporters at the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday – read on for a summary of what he had to say…
On whether the ‘attitude around transfers is down to the emergence of players like Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah’…
Two things, we spend a lot of money in the summer, so we really invested in the squad, the ownership really brought in the right players. So this means that even when you hit a few injuries at the moment, they will be back in not that long hopefully. I think the difference between a good season and a top season is when you are going through these phases, how the squad reacts when players are missing. So Mo [Salah] going [to the Africa Cup of Nations], how do [Diogo] Jota, Cody [Gakpo], Darwin [Nunez], Lucho [Luis Diaz] step up? Harvey Elliott [as well].
We always believe in the Academy as well. I think one thing is that you want to produce your own players to be able to fight, to compete and to win prizes. The other reason why we have an academy and 250 players there running and dreaming and hoping is that in these moments where it’s harder, when a season gets tough in terms of injuries, that they can back you. And so far they always did. You look to Conor Bradley, he comes in [against Arsenal], Martinelli comes in fresh to go one-v-one constantly, and maybe the first one not [with] the big diagonal he couldn’t clear but after that he reads, he learns and he can clear two or three. One-v-one against [Gabriel] Martinelli, first one he gets outplayed, the second one he learns and closes the outside better. So these boys, they learn at the same moment.
I think Conor and Bobby [Clark], they are not backup players, they are part of our squad, they are young, they are hungry and they are made for games like this. Look what happened to Jarell, we put him in at Newcastle when we were with 10 men. After that, he feels our trust, he knows that we really can rely on him and he makes the steps he makes. Young players just need opportunities. They don’t need criticism, they just need trust for the coaching staff. That’s what we try to do.
On the semi-final with Fulham…
We all dream when we are young. You want to play in the most iconic stadiums in the world, and Wembley is one of them – it has so much history, so many memories we already made there. So you want to go there. I think the team has this hunger. It’s the closest final we can reach. But we have to respect Fulham. They have a very clear way, a good offensive idea, really creative. They can build with three, the outside triangles are really flexible, so they constantly interchange positions. [Raul] Jimenez is back to his old quality, how he was at Wolves, [a] real focal point for them. If you let them play – we analysed – then you see how many problems they can create. You saw what they did with West Ham, you saw what they did with Forest and now they won [against] Arsenal. If you let them play, they really play.
They do the simple things really, really good. Really clear style. Marco does an incredible job, in my opinion. And then you have Andreas Pereira, he was my player when he was nine years old at PSV Eindhoven – unbelievable that you can play against him now – so much creativity, he can play early passes to Jimenez. Harry [Wilson], of course, we know really well, a goal threat who can shoot from everywhere, great personality – we really like him. And then Willian, nothing to say, one of the better players. We really need to be spot on – like in the high press, our midfield press. We need to defend them with all we have and put our aggressive, attacking style into place.
On whether Liverpool will look at the tie as two games as a whole or each leg in isolation…
In the moment we are in after the crazy December schedule and two days ago we go to Arsenal, you just look at the next game. You’re not even thinking about the game after. That’s also something we really like – we see just the next game as the next final. It sounds cliché but it is like this. That’s how we prepare. We see which players are really available, we look how they are and then we make a line-up and then we go.
On ‘how to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold in Liverpool’s set-up’…
We have many weapons. There’s no irreplaceable… Mo goes away, Jota steps up, if the best players are not there and you play really well – [like] in the second half against Arsenal – then that’s a good sign. That’s a really good sign. That’s what we have always done. We don’t rely on one, two or three or four players. We’re missing probably four or five core players from our leadership group – Robbo, Trent, Mo. So yeah, missing three from the leaders. That’s a blow, of course, and he [Alexander-Arnold] creates a lot of flexibility from the back. He can play passes that the forwards really like to receive. He has verticality, he knows how to decide games and he always sniffs when to put balls where.
The squad has a lot of other qualities, in my opinion, but for sure we need to find new dynamics. We always do that. It’s a difference if Wata [Endo] plays, for example, or Alexis [Mac Allister] plays in the six. You find different dynamics. We always search to become better or to evolve the game or to become a more complete team. You see what players you have and you try to build around that. It’s different if Darwin plays striker or plays on the left wing, or if Jota plays striker. We always search in this way and now we have to find solutions without Trent as well. But again, this squad has so much talent, so much power. We always say as long as counter-pressing is there, everything else is replaceable!
