PETALING JAYA: Former Liverpool centreback Sami Hyypia is confident that the Reds will finish the English Premier League (EPL) season on a high next May despite enduring a stuttering start to the 2022/2023 season.
The Liverpool legend explained that last season, manager Juergen Klopp’s side trailed eventual champions Manchester City by massive 13 points at one stage.
He said the Reds then lived up to their “mentality monsters” tag by clawing their way back to end the season in second place with 92 points - just one short of City.
“We haven’t had the happiest of starts to the season with injuries to the players but, with the short break afforded due to Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, we‘ve managed to get our crocked players up and running again and we are getting our consistency back.
“We are now nine points behind City. Last year, we were 13 points behind them and we nearly caught them, so it’s not impossible... everything is possible because there is still a long way to go,” he told reporters after the launching of the first official Liverpool FC store at Sunway Pyramid here, today.
Liverpool are currently eighth in the EPL standings with nine points while cash-rich City, who have hit the ground running, sit in second place with 17 points - just one behind surprise leage leaders Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Hyypia feels that Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez needs more time to adapt to Klopp’s system before he can reproduce the red-hot form he showed when he played for Portugal’s Benfica previously.
“I know it’s not easy to adapt to the Premier League, takes a little time to adapt... but he will come good. He will score a lot of goals,” said the 48-year-old Finnish.
Nunez has scored twice since making the big money move to Anfield for a club-record fee of £85 million, including one in their EPL opening day 2-2 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage, London, last month. - Bernama
