A delighted Jürgen Klopp had plenty to be pleased with after Liverpool's scintillating 6-0 demolition of Aston Villa in the Midlands on Sunday and called it "a result for the soul."

Having gone into the game with just one win in six, the Reds side turned on the style against their struggling opponents, finding themselves with a two-goal cushion by half-time thanks to Daniel Sturridge and James Milner.

But Villa Park was left emptying rapidly by the hour mark as Emre Can, Divock Origi, Nathaniel Clyne and Kolo Touré all got in on the act to inflict the heaviest home defeat on Villa for 81 years. 

It was the second time in just five months that Klopp had seen his side score six goals on the road and a beaming manager could not hold back his joy in his post-match press conference.

"Everything was good" says Klopp after six-goal haul

He explained that they "knew about the importance of the game" given both side's situations and with "the results and number of games [remaining]" and said that in Villa's situation they "have to take points" with just 12 games left.

Klopp explained that the bottom-of-the-table Villans had "played really good" and "played good football" in their previous few games and said that Liverpool knew it "would not be too easy" but said they "played well, defended well and scored the goals in the right moments."

He joked that 2-0 at half-time is "a good result" even though they "had a two-goal lead a week ago and gave it away" against Sunderland, but said that the only thing they had to do was "carry on and make a few things better" as he pinpointed "a few moments where Aston Villa came through, they had crosses and while they weren't real chances, it was more dangerous than it should have been."

Sturridge scored his fifth goal of the season in just his eighth game. (Picture: Getty Images)
Sturridge scored his fifth goal of the season in just his eighth game. (Picture: Getty Images)

He praised his squad for the fact they "came out and did well again, scored more goals and won 6-0" and admitted that it's not a common situation to win so convincingly, insisting that it was "a good game for us" and "a result for the soul, for the table and for our goal difference" - vowing that "everything was good."

Klopp continued to say that it was "perfect" for his team in the fashion that they thrashed Remi Garde's men and said that it "makes sense to work in this way and it was good" but insisted that they cannot get carried away because it's "not a day to sing songs or things like this."

The German said that this is "partly [out of] respect for Aston Villa" who he labelled "a great club in a difficult situation" - saying that whilst it's "important for us" to win, "on the other side, if one teams wins 6-0, another team loses 6-0 and that's not too nice for them" adding that it's "a good day" for Liverpool but "a hard day for Aston Villa."

Klopp over the moon with Sturridge's goalscoring return

One of the overwhelming positives from Sunday afternoon's performance was the display of 26-year-old Sturridge, making just his eight appearance in all competitions this season.

He took just 16 minutes to break the deadlock on his first league start since before Klopp's appointment five months ago, as he thrived alongside the returning Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino in a faultless front-three.

The England international was withdrawn in place of Origi, who then took just 37 seconds to score himself, in order to gently ease him back into the side - and Klopp declared himself pleased with Sturridge's impact, in terms of goals and in his general performance.

"We need the goals of Daniel and he needs the goals, that's clear," added the Reds boss to journalists, saying that his input was "not a surprise" but said it was "a surprise how well tuned he is with the team when he starts" - declaring that his "movements" show he's "a real striker" which is "good to see."

Sturridge after opening the deadlock in the 16th minute at Villa Park. (Picture: Getty Images)
Sturridge after opening the deadlock in the 16th minute at Villa Park. (Picture: Getty Images)

He also praised Sturridge's sheer presence and movement, insisting that it's "really difficult to defend if he's always somewhere" and that if you "don't know where is on the pitch" then it's difficult to stop him because the back-line "don't know where his next move is."

Klopp insisted that Sturridge is "very important" for the team and "changes a lot of things" because of his quality, but said they "can only speak about this when he's available. When he's not then we cannot say, 'with Daniel it would have been different'," he added.

The German added that he was "brilliant" and took pleasure from the fact Sturridge "was not too happy when we took him off" but assured supporters his substitution was not because "he gave a sign or something like this", saying "it made sense to take him out after 60 minutes" which was "perfect for him" and hopefully means "he's available for the next game too."

Reds still not as strong as they can be, argues the manager

Despite welcoming Sturridge, Coutinho and Origi back into the Reds' forward line - with all three coming off the bench in their second successive games - Klopp insists that they're still not full-strength. 

He explained that they "played without Adam Lallana" and "without Lucas Leiva" whilst "Martin Skrtel [is] still injured" and said it will be "good for us when we have all players available" although he acknowledged that "football life is not like this."

The Liverpool squad celebrates Touré's first professional goal in five years. (Picture: Getty Images)
The Liverpool squad celebrates Touré's first professional goal in five years. (Picture: Getty Images)

"You have to get results even when you don't have all [the] players available," he said, which he admitted they "didn't do often enough" in the absence of players like Sturridge, as well as saying that they "know about our problems that we've had."

However, Klopp said: "We believe in our work, we believe in the squad and in our way" as he insisted that they "got the benefit" at Villa Park which is "how it is sometimes."

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.