Jurgen Klopp has defended one of his substitutions during Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday.
The teams were level at 1-1 in the 58th minute when the Reds boss made a triple change which included Trent Alexander-Arnold being replaced by Andy Robertson.
It might’ve seemed surprising to withdraw the vice-captain at that point given his creative abilities, but with him making his first start since his knee ligament tear last month, the 56-year-old insisted that the England international wasn’t yet at a point where he could play for a full match.
Speaking in his post-match press conference (via liverpoolfc.com), Klopp said: “We made changes as well around that time. Trent, [it] was never planned that he plays 90, it was clear we had to take him off a bit early and stuff like this.
“[We] brought on Darwin [Nunez] and Harvey [Elliott] and these kind of things. It all could have worked, but then the 2-1 is obviously not great [and] the momentum changed completely again.”
READ MORE: (Video) Declan Rice shows class with post-match Liverpool verdict after Arsenal triumph
READ MORE: Barcelona director drops thinly-veiled comment over club’s stance on Jurgen Klopp
It’s inevitable that a manager’s substitutions will be hailed as a masterstroke after a win and a misjudgment following a defeat, although Klopp’s stance on Trent is quite understandable.
The manager would’ve known full well how much football the 25-year-old was capable of playing yesterday following his recent convalescence, and in truth it was an unusually tepid display from the vice-captain.
As per Sofascore, he misplaced a third of his passes and lost 75% of his duels, while also being culpable of one error leading to a shot for Arsenal, and offensively he was limited to a solitary key pass.
At least with Liverpool not in action again until Saturday, Trent has the best part of a week to bolster his fitness in training ahead of Burnley’s visit to Anfield, and it seemed that Klopp was sensibly playing the long game with that substitution at the Emirates Stadium.
🕯️ EOTK Insider: A tribute to Alex South; a remarkable man with a special Kop moment