Humiliated Lampard and Giggs, Klopp wants him as captain, could be new Anfield idol

Jürgen Klopp stressed the importance of Liverpool's win over Southampton despite not being entirely happy with the team's performance. The manager, who was suspended and watched the game from the stands, spoke to the press after the game and also congratulated James Milner on winning his 600th cap. The most important thing was to get the three points. The performance in the first half was also very good. We had an early goal, but they had a good reaction. We got in behind and used our speed, used our football skills," he analysed.

"The second half was not so good. We needed Alisson. He enjoys that, but as a coach I enjoy it much less. We didn't control the game well enough in the second half. Defensively we were too passive, too deep and that's why they were able to create danger for us," he added. 22 points was the maximum we could have reached before the break, we knew that for a while and that's what we got," he said, looking back on the first half of the season before the break for the World Cup in Qatar.

More Liverpool news:

While Ronaldo is being mocked, Salah is the best player in the Premier League

Billionaire promises to make Liverpool the richest team in the world, PSG and Manchester City tremble

He also referred to James Milner, who came on as a substitute and became only the fourth player in Premier League history, after Gareth Barry, Ryan Giggs and Frank Lampard, to make 600 appearances in the competition. "I don't know how many have reached that mark in England. Most of the games, they were probably in a Liverpool shirt, so it's an honour to be present at the moment when he reached that number," he said.

"It's a great number, a great career and he won almost everything. A role model for us, for everyone in the room. I knew he was at 599 appearances and there was no chance he wouldn't play today. He did well, you can see he's still important for us. He's not just playing to get the 600th appearance," he concluded.

Klopp excited about Milner

Seven Liverpool players have been called up to various national teams, while the rest of the squad will camp in Dubai for the duration of the World Cup. "We have seven at the World Cup. They are very important players. We have a clear rule, as with international matches: the guys have to text me immediately if there is a problem after a game," Klopp told reporters.