Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp felt Preston North End turned in an ‘inspired’ performance against his Reds side on Wednesday night.
Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi scored at Deepdale to give Liverpool a 2-0 Carabao Cup win.
The Reds head into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup having seen off some first-half pressure from North End.
Preston were happy for Liverpool to have plenty of possession, setting up to hit them on the break.
Preston’s counter-attacking caused problems in the first half, with Brad Potts breaking through from a Seani Maguire pass only to fire straight at Adrian.
Chances came and went for Maguire, Ryan Ledson and Potts in a manic period of play, with Preston later being made to pay for missing those opportunities.
North End battled away and didn’t disgrace themselves, but offered little in the second half.
Liverpool boss Klopp has offered his view on Preston’s performance and was pretty complimentary.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Klopp suggested that Preston were ‘inspired’ against this Liverpool team, adding that the atmosphere was ‘nice’.
That may mean a good atmosphere, or it was nice for Liverpool to play in – so who knows whether that’s good or bad, but Klopp praised Preston all the same.
“Preston played an inspired game,” said Klopp. “The atmosphere was nice, no-one got injured. Perfect night,” he added.