Brazil international Lucas Leiva has given a reflection on his first season with Lazio. The 31-year-old ended his ten-year association with Liverpool last summer in order to head to Rome and he has since transformed his game with an improved sense of attacking intent. Leiva only managed seven goals for Liverpool over the course of a ten-year career but with Lazio, he has already managed four goals in the space of just 12 months.

Speaking to Liverpool’s official website, Leiva admitted that Klopp always encouraged him to push further up the field and he has now begun to take more risks without letting the team being exposed, he said: “I’ve been working on this. I remember Klopp as well, he said a few times to me I could score a few goals. But it was something in my head that was blocking me and I had a different perception.

“I always felt that if I went too much forward then maybe I would leave my teammates not protected. So I started to work on this here and with the confidence with games you start to, I wouldn’t say take more risks, but go a bit more forward and measure the risk without leaving the team exposed.”

Since the departure of Leiva, Liverpool have made genuine progress under Klopp and they managed to secure a top-four spot for the second straight season. On the other hand, the Reds also reached the final of the Champions League against Real Madrid but unfortunately they could not break through the final hurdle.

Nevertheless, the Reds have made significant strides under the German head coach and the next season could be theirs in the Premier League, should they find their stride from the off. The Reds have been offered one of the easiest starts to the 2018/19 campaign when compared to their rivals and this should witness them get a head start in the title pursuit.