Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Anfield is a “nightmare” for opposition teams as the ground has once again become a fortress for his side.

The 4-0 Europa League victory over LASK extended their 100 per cent home record to 10 matches this season, in which they have scored 31 goals and conceded just four.

Liverpool have not lost at home in any competition since their Champions League defeat to Real Madrid in February, and domestically it stretches back to October last year.

They have dropped just six points in the Premier League in that time in a run of 18 wins and three draws.

“It is our home, it must, must, must be a difficult place to come,” said Klopp on their Anfield record.

“I said to the boys (before the LASK game), I think for every player, if they are not playing at Liverpool and play in a different country, playing at Anfield is a dream.

“But actually it must be a nightmare and that is what we try to do. It didn’t work out all the time but when our people are at it, it makes a massive difference.

“So it is cool, but I think my best skill is not feeling at all winning streaks. I just don’t feel it because the next game is so important, so different, so difficult.

“That’s why I don’t think they help really, maybe for the other team to think it’s a difficult place to go, but for us each game stays difficult because of the quality of the opponent.”

Fulham, who have scored just 13 times in as many Premier League matches, are the next side to try to break Liverpool’s streak on Sunday.

They may have been given hope by the hamstring injury to goalkeeper Alisson Becker, which has put back-up Caoimhmin Kelleher in line for his longest run in the side, having never played more than three consecutive games for the club.

The Republic of Ireland international, whose appearances this season have so far been limited to the Europa League and Carabao Cup, warmed up with some good saves in the final 20 minutes of the LASK win having not been tested before that.

Klopp has previously described Kelleher as the world’s best number two and he has no doubts about the 25-year-old’s potential to elevate himself further.

“We see him every day in training, he is an exceptional talent,” said the manager.

“Maybe we don’t mention the name often enough but (goalkeeping coach) John Achterberg said to me from day one when I was in that this will be our homegrown boy who will make it.

“We had discussions in the summer obviously about (moving on), but as long as we don’t have a solution we cannot loan players.

“He is homegrown and the first responsibility is to do the best for Liverpool, then we have to see how we can sort it.

“Now obviously for him it is a situation he did not want to have, but obviously because you want opportunities, you want to play, now he will get a few games, definitely. I trust him.”

Kelleher insists he is ready for an extended run in the side and that LASK proved a useful warm-up.

“I know it’s obviously been a long time (since being in the first-choice team) but I’m always training for that, to try and be ready and if something does happen to Ali – unfortunately something has – then I’m ready to go in and try to help the team get some more wins,” he told LFCTV.

“It was a good performance and that gives me confidence to build on and hopefully I can back that up with another good performance on Sunday.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp played down his record-breaking 50th European win after the 3-1 victory over LASK in Austria.

His side came from behind for the fourth time in six matches as goals from Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz and substitute Mohamed Salah secured the German’s 50th European victory for the club – surpassing the record he held with Rafael Benitez.

“Let me say it like this, if I still have 50 after the group stage, then even if I’ve still got the most wins in Europe as a Liverpool manager then everybody will hate that,” he said.

“The highest number of wins but everybody will hate it.

“So it’s nice – we have played a lot of games in Europe, but it is good we have won that many and we have frequently qualified for finals.

“No it’s great but probably because the competition now has so many more games than in the past.”

Klopp made 11 changes from the weekend win over Wolves and that contributed to the disjointed, sluggish start.

LASK, in the biggest game in their history, took full advantage as they flew out of the blocks and scored through Florian Flecker’s expertly taken strike from a well-rehearsed corner.

“Tough start, yes. Obviously the first shot on target after a set-piece and we conceded,” the Reds boss added.

“We had very good moments but I saw the boys didn’t feel that. It was not that we could gain confidence from our good moments – we didn’t seem to think we should do that again.

“So we suffered from the less good moments confidence-wise and frustration grew. It makes no sense. Human, but it makes no
sense anyway.

“We showed them (at half-time) two football situations from the first half where we did pretty well. The boys clearly thought there was nothing good in the first half but that was not true.

“We told them they had to get rid of the frustration getting back into the game again, and then we would have a good chance to turn it around, and that’s what we did eventually.

“I’m really, really happy because I said before I knew it would be really difficult, and it was difficult, even if people didn’t believe me. Well-deserved win in the end and that’s it.

“I know that people expect us to fly through this competition. In the group stage it will not happen, in the knockout it will not happen. We have to dig in, dig into it.”

LASK coach Thomas Sageder was disappointed they could not capitalise on their good start.

“We played very brave, we were aggressive and we had a chance to score the second goal but it was only 1-0 at half-time,” he said.

“In the second half we saw how good a team Liverpool were but we fought to the end.”

Liverpool took time adjusting to life back in the Europa League but for the fourth time in six matches this season they came from behind to win 3-1 against LASK in Linz.

It had been 2,682 days since they last appeared in UEFA’s second-tier competition, having played in three Champions League finals and won one, and that adaptation to a new reality took a while to bed in.

The Austrians had no such problem in the biggest game in their history as the visit of Manchester United in 2020, when they were hammed 5-0, happened behind closed doors because of the pandemic.

They were so fired up they predictably took an early lead through Florian Flecker’s brilliantly-taken goal but once Jurgen Klopp’s side came to the realisation the Europa League will be just as tough a task as the competition favourites this season’s familiar trait emerged.

Within the space of eight second-half minutes Darwin Nunez fired home a penalty and Luis Diaz converted from close range and late on substitute Mohamed Salah clinched Klopp’s 50th European victory, the most of any Anfield manager.

Pre-match the German had insisted this was not a competition for handing out “opportunities” but then proceeded to name a completely different side from that which won at Wolves at the weekend.

Not to say that it was weak with first-choice centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate at the back and Diaz and Nunez up front but in between was the untried midfield of newest signing 21-year-old Ryan Gravenberch, on his first start, and Harvey Elliott (20) either side of the 30-year-old ‘veteran’ Wataru Endo who had played just 89 minutes for Klopp’s team since his own summer move.

The real excitement was reserved for livewire winger Ben Doak, who became the club’s fourth-youngest player to play in Europe at the age of 17 years and 314 days on his first start.

But while his first real run at the LASK defence saw him glide past Rene Renner to win a corner he was starved of opportunities by a malfunctioning midfield which could not gain any control in the first half and the young Scot was replaced just past the hour.

Stefan Bajcetic’s misjudgement, the 18-year-old midfielder asked to play the Trent Alexander-Arnold hybrid right-back role, in missing a cross led to a LASK corner and the opening goal.

Flecker was picked out on the edge of the penalty area and he took a touch before drilling a shot through a crowd of players past Caoimhin Kelleher as a training-ground move paid off from their first shot on target.

Liverpool were not so clinical as Nunez headed over an inviting Elliott cross before seeing his close-range nod towards goal from Van Dijk’s header at a corner clawed out by goalkeeper Tobias Lawal.

The raucous home crowd cheered not only that but every block, every tackle, every Liverpool corner repelled, every corner won.

Liverpool’s first move of any quality brought the equaliser when Diaz was brought down by Philipp Ziereis, after Elliott, Doak and Bajcetic had combined down the right, and Nunez powered home from the spot in the 56th minute.

It was the signal for Klopp to make changes with summer signings Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, two of his new first-choice midfield, replacing Doak and Endo with Joe Gomez giving Bajcetic a break after his first game since March after injury.

They went ahead when Nunez brought down Gomez’s pass from deep, laid off to Elliott who sent Gravenberch racing down the right and his low cross was turned home by Diaz.

If life was not difficult enough for the hosts Mohamed Salah was introduced in the 76th minute and created two chances and had a shot inside his first 60 seconds before weaving himself into a position to poke through the legs of the goalkeeper two minutes from time.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists they are in the Europa League to win it and they arrive in Linz “to compete, not to give opportunities”.

On Thursday the Reds take on LASK as they return to a competition in which their last appearance was the 2016 final defeat to Sevilla in the German’s first season at the club.

Since then Liverpool have won the Champions League and reached two other finals and lifted the Premier League, the Club World Cup, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

As it stands the Europa League is the only major trophy Klopp has not won in his near-eight years at Anfield and he wants to add that missing silverware to his honour role.

That means fans who were hoping to see exciting fringe talents like youngster Ben Doak, Harvey Elliott and new signing Ryan Gravenberch may have to wait for now.

“We are here to compete, not to give opportunities,” he said.

“My first year I thought the Europa League was a bit too much for us until we got to the final. We had to fly to Russia, played on a frozen pitch in Sion.

“That was a different squad. We were not ready and we came through somehow. I don’t think we were exceptional until the quarter-final, semi-final.

“It is a different time, a different team. We are better prepared. We enjoy it more to be here because we had no clue at that time what to expect.

“We have to be motivated and we are excited to play in the Europa League. I didn’t watch the Champions League (this week), I didn’t miss the anthem.”

None of the 2016 final squad remain at Anfield with Joe Gomez – who was 18 at the time but out injured – the only current player to have played in the Europa League for Liverpool.

But while there have been significant alterations to the playing staff this summer the core of that trophy-winning band are still together and Klopp’s side are favourites to win the competition.

However, captain Virgil van Dijk brushed off the expectations.

“It’s a reflection of the world we live in at the moment, it’s from one extreme to the other,” he said.

“We have to just stay calm and level-headed, there are so many games to play and twists and turns to happen.

“We know we had a good start but there are so many things still we need to improve. We need to stay calm.

“Everyone else from the outside world will say things but we should not worry and think about it.”

Van Dijk has had to watch from the sidelines for the last two matches due to suspension but he has been impressed with the way his team-mates have gone about their business.

And he is not the only one who has been heartened.

Klopp added: “Virgil is right. He did not play now twice and you can see something is growing.

“We were late (arriving in Linz) today and it wasn’t our fault and we were waiting around and you see they enjoy spending time with each other.”