Jurgen Klopp has hailed former Chelsea and Arsenal star Willian as ‘one of the greatest the Premier League ever saw’ ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Fulham.
The Reds have the chance to go top of the table on Sunday when they face the Cottagers at Anfield.
Having lost just twice in 20 games across all competitions this season, Liverpool are expected to sweep aside Fulham who are 14th in the table having won just one of their last five league matches.
Moreover, only Luton, Sheffield United and Burnley have scored fewer goals than Marco Silva’s side in the top-flight.
Nevertheless, Klopp is taking nothing for granted, and was keen to highlight the opposition’s attacking quality, reserving extra special praise for their veteran winger.
‘They have very creative set pieces, really creative, so we need to make sure we prepare for that properly,’ the Reds manager said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
‘Marco is a top manager, he’s doing a brilliant job in a strong league, I’m not saying they are overachieving but they are doing particularly well and it’s a really good football team.
‘With [Raul] Jimenez up front, [Carlos] Vinicius, and then one of the greatest, the little curly one [Willian], one of the greatest the Premier League ever saw, who is still going and going and going and [Andreas] Pereira.
‘It’s just a good football team, well set up and it makes it special, and their little stadium there, they can create a proper atmosphere and we’ve had our struggles there.
‘But this time it’s at Anfield, it’s home and we have to make sure it will be extremely difficult for them.’
Even at the age of 35, Willian is still delivering the goods, having recorded 14 goal contributions since joining Fulham last season.
The former Brazil star has scored 46 goals and made 43 assists in 298 Premier League appearances, and is best known for his seven-year spell at Chelsea where he won two league titles, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Europa League.
While undoubtedly a Premier League icon, it may be a stretch to put him in the same bracket as the competition’s very best wingers.
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