Wonderful to see the fringe players doing so well, admits Jurgen Klopp

The gamble proved to be extremely fruitful as Origi scored a brace and Shaqiri was his effervescent self even getting himself on the scoresheet. But in the absence of Salah and Firmino, Sadio Mane was the bright light for the league leaders and caused Everton immense problems. With a packed schedule over December and January, Klopp has to find a way of giving his key players a break and this was one of those occasions. Their performances vindicated the former Mainz boss' decision to play them and Klopp went on to praised his fringe players for stepping up.

“As a manager you hope for it and then the boys deliver and it is the best feeling you can get as a manager. It didn't surprise me but I didn't expect it in that manner. It was really good. It helped us. The boys know now it is easy for me to tell them how good they are. When they play and deliver like they did it is very good for the whole squad,” said Klopp to Daily Mail.

“It is just a number, 43, but three is the next number when we play against Bournemouth. They are not happy with their situation (having lost four in row). They want to strike back so we have to be ready for that. That is the only thing I am really thinking about. Stats are cool after the season, but in it, I'm not interested,” said the former Borussia Dortmund manager.