Klopp: Surprise Liverpool line-up was key in goal romp

Jurgen Klopp was delighted to be able to spring a surprise on Brighton and Hove Albion with an unorthodox Liverpool line-up, even if his players were similarly in the dark about the new system until Friday.

With Joel Matip ruled out, Klopp fielded midfielders Emre Can and Georginio Wijnaldum in a three-man defence - and it worked to good effect as Liverpool romped to a 5-1 triumph at Brighton.

The front three of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Philippe Coutinho were all on song and their manager believes the late call on a change of formation played a big role.

"We had no idea we were going to have to line up like this until [Friday's] meeting and I'm pleased for the boys," Klopp told Sky Sports. "They were able to adapt.

"Our line-up surprised everybody. It's a good moment that we can do things like this. They adapted and did the job. We need to adapt with plenty of different systems - that's how it should be."

Despite the convincing margin of victory, Liverpool endured a few nervy moments as Glenn Murray made the scoreline 3-1 shortly after Firmino's second goal.

And Klopp conceded that this win was not as comfortable as the result suggests.

Asked whether he had enjoyed the victory, the Reds boss replied: "Not really, not all the time."