Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp sets milestone achievement after 3-1 Europa League win

September 22, 2023 Sports 2 Views

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp set a unique record on Thursday night, as the Reds beat Austrian side LASK 3-1 in the Europa League.

The group stage win saw Klopp reach 50 wins in Europe with Liverpool, becoming the first manager in the club’s history to reach the milestone. Klopp has therefore now surpassed 2005 Champions League-winning boss Rafael Benitez, who has 49 wins on his record.

Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah all scored in the second half of the game against LASK to hand Liverpool the victory, as they fought back from 1-0 down.

eam photo Liverpool FC during the Group E - UEFA Europa League 2023-24 match between LASK and Liverpool FC at Oberoesterreich Arena on September 21, 2023 in Linz, Austria. (Photo by Severin Aichbauer/SEPA.Media /Getty Images) — Liverpool made plenty of changes for the game (Image credit: Getty Images)

Klopp, though, isn’t too concerned with the record, suggesting his main focus is progressing from the Europa League group stages, with games against Toulouse and Union Saint-Gilloise still to come.

“Let me say it like this,” Klopp said after the game, “if I still have 50 after the group stage, then even if I’ve still got the most wins in Europe as a Liverpool manager then everybody will hate that!

“We played quite a lot of games in Europe. It’s good that we won that many, we qualified frequently for finals so of course we should have won games. It’s great but probably it’s because in European competition there are just much more games than in the past. I’m pretty sure that’s it.”

Rafael Benitez Liverpool manager

Benitez won 49 European games during his time in charge (Image credit: PA)

Liverpool are, unsurprisingly, the favourites to win the Europa League this season, due to their strong start in the Premier League and revitalised squad under the German manager.

Their progress in the competition could depend on which Champions League sides drop down, however, with third-placed sides in Europe’s premier competition entering into a play-off round against teams which finish second in their Europa League groups.