Colin Bell says Liverpool's all-action style was developed by Jurgen Klopp at Mainz.

Bell is a former footballer with Leicester and coached the reserve team at Mainz when Klopp was starting out in his managerial career.

And at Mainz, Klopp and his former teammate Zeljko Buvac - who's remained his assistant coach ever since - developed the three-striker system that's served the Reds so well in the Premier League this year.

“Zeljko reads the game very well, he has great footballing ideas and is always looking at finding new ways on how to play and train," Bell told The Times.

"When Mainz started to play 4-3-3 it was different to the Dutch way where you have a central striker and two out-and-out wingers.

"Andriy Voronin [who would later join Liverpool] scored 20 goals for Mainz [in 2002-03] and he was all over the pitch, working really hard from central striker or right wing and left wing and it was so difficult for opponents to stop him and others.

"I can see those sorts of aspects in the Liverpool style now, especially with the quality of the player they have.

“Closing down, surrounding opponents, going hunting for the ball — that all started in Mainz. That was one of Zeljko's big things and he did specific training forms for that."