Jurgen Klopp hailed the mentality of out-of-favour left-back Alberto Moreno after Liverpool thrashed 10-man Hull City at Anfield on Saturday to record their fourth straight win in all competitions.
Makeshift fullback James Milner, who has been keeping Moreno out of the team, scored two penalties - one after Ahmed Elmohamady was sent off for handball - with Adam Lallana, Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho all on target in an emphatic victory.
But Klopp elected to single out Moreno for praise, despite the fact the Spaniard was an unused substitute for Liverpool yet again.
"We can now talk about [Milner] if you want because he was not a left full-back last season," Klopp said at his post-match press conference.
"Or we could say the same about Clyney [Nathaniel Clyne] – did anybody see Clyney that often in and around the opponents' box? It's a very important position for us, a very, very important position for us.
"To be honest, one of the best players in training in the last few weeks has been Alberto Moreno. He took the situation [being dropped] brilliantly and is in a really good moment."
Klopp insisted he wants competition for places throughout his squad after Liverpool temporarily moved up to third in the league, although they were later overtaken by Arsenal.
"I don't want to have too much pressure because I want the players all confident, but that's the kind of pressure we need to make on all positions," the German said.
"In each training [session], we have to perform. If not, not because of me, only because there's another one who can perform, then we have to change - that's how it is and it helps all of us. Milner played really well, that's true."
While Moreno's mentality was praised by Klopp, the Liverpool manager was unimpressed by reports of a social media rant by another out-of-favour defender, Mamadou Sakho.
"Somebody told me this morning that [there was] something I should know about," Klopp said, referring to the incident.
"On a matchday I'm in a completely wrong mood to think about things like this.
"But it's not the right moment to speak about [this] because I think most of the time in life it makes sense to think about something and then it's more likely that you can give the right answer. It's not positive, I would say.
"I think I address the situation when it's the right moment, and I didn't decide when that is - it's not Christmas."
