Because Trent Alexander-Arnold hurt his knee, the Northern Ireland international started against the Cottagers. Goals from Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo secured a comeback win for the Reds, giving them a lead going into the second game later this month at Craven Cottage.

Willian scored the first goal for Fulham after Conor Bradley made a mistake at the wrong time, but the 20-year-old reacted strongly with a great defensive performance.

In addition, Klopp said that he had been waiting for the right time to use the defender again after he hurt his back in preseason and could not play until November.

“I am happily ever after. For that moment, I was waiting for us to be able to give him the chance,” Klopp told reporters. “I could not wait for it because my opinion of him was already high when he got hurt in preseason.” After that, he was not seen for a long time.

“A great boy. He had a pretty rough day today. I hope someone drives him home because he does not look good while he is in the changing room! There is nothing nicer to see than someone giving their all.

“That he could show how good he is is really cool. There is still a lot more to come, of course.

“These things happen in the first goal. If you play defense, you will always be involved in some way with a goal. It is about how quickly you can play again. I liked that there was no response a lot.