Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp shared a lovely moment with Ivan Toney after the final whistle (TNT Sports)
Jurgen Klopp has lifted the lid on his ‘nice conversation’ with Ivan Toney following Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Brentford, revealing how the striker wished him all the best for the future.
Darwin Nunez opened the scoring with a sublime dinked finish to break the deadlock in the 35th minute before second-half goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo secured the visitors all three points.
Toney’s 75th-minute strike proved a rare highlight for Thomas Frank’s side, who travel to champions Manchester City in midweek after suffering three defeats in four games.
The result restored Liverpool’s five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table and Klopp was understandably delighted with his side’s performance. However, possible injuries to Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota and Nunez took some of the gloss off the win.
Toney – who recently returned from an eight-month ban for gambling offences – took his second-half goal typically well, making it four in five matches for the in-form forward.
The England international has made no secret of his ambition to join a ‘top club’ and pictures of the attacker deep in conversation with Klopp after the final whistle got some Liverpool fans a little excited on social media – given the Brentford man is a lifelong Reds fan.
Asked what he said to Toney, Klopp told reporters: ‘I was more smiling at him. He’s obviously quite a handful and really tricky. I used a different word but it’s really tricky to play against him, obviously.
Toney netted in the second half at the Gtech Community Stadium (Picture: Getty0
‘Am I right in thinking he’s a Liverpool supporter? He’s not shy in saying that, so we spoke a little bit about that and he wished me good luck for my time after these things here.
‘A lot of players have said it but it’s nice anyway. But nobody has to worry, I will find something!
‘So that was it, it was a nice conversation. I had it with [Vitaly] Janelt as well.’
Klopp’s men restored their five-point lead at the top (Picture: Getty)
The Liverpool manager added: ‘That is the strange thing in football. This is probably one of the nicest teams, nicest coaching staff of everything you can face.
‘But you play against them and you want to knock them down every five seconds because it’s just annoying.
‘It’s really like that. Everything is set up to make you really look rubbish. But around that, it’s a great club, I like everything about them, just not playing them!’
Toney – who was heavily linked with Chelsea and Arsenal in the January transfer window – revealed his support for Liverpool on The Diary of a CEO podcast last year.
‘I’ve been a Liverpool fan my whole life but, from young, I’ve liked watching Arsenal and how they play,’ he said.
‘But yeah, I’m a Liverpool boy, a Liverpool fan at heart.’
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