Jurgen Klopp explains brutal decision to drop Salah and three others

Klopp admits past successes have helped him keep Liverpool job

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has explained that a mixture of reasons prompted him to make significant changes to his team for Tuesday’s game at Chelsea. Klopp has left four big names on the bench, including Mohamed Salah, for the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.

Salah joins Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson and Cody Gakpo in dropping to the bench after Saturday’s 4-1 thrashing at Manchester City.

Virgil van Dijk and Harvey Elliott are also part of the six changes, with both excluded from the squad altogether. Ahead of kick-off in west London, Klopp confirmed that Van Dijk was unavailable but revealed further changes were to provide rest for some and award opportunities to others.

He told Sky Sports: “He [Van Dijk] is unavailable. And all the rest, some get a rest, some need rest, and a lot of players get an opportunity to show up tonight.

READ MORE
Chelsea red-faced as embarrassing details of huge squad effects emerge [NEWS]

“So that’s it. We needed fresh legs. It was clear we needed fresh minds as well. So, and I said before, it didn’t work out that well last week, so that’s a moment where you have to make changes, obviously.

“So I really, really hope that we can show the reaction even when it’s not the same team, obviously, but still, as a group, we have to show a reaction.

“Of course [I hope fresh legs and fresh minds will give us more impetus]. That’s why you do it. There’s no other reason for it. But again, Saturday to Tuesday is always something where you have to think about changes. And if you can do it, I think we always do it.

DON’T MISS
Spurs’ Mason spotted ‘screaming angrily at Stellini’ in Everton draw [SPOTTED]
FA hit Aleksandar Mitrovic with heavy ban after Man Utd outburst [LATEST]
Ten Hag told he ‘can’t trust’ Shaw and may have made Man Utd error [QUOTES]

“In this case, now things are combined a little bit because we are not overly happy. So there must be an opportunity for other players to show what they can do.”

In the build-up to the game, Klopp insisted that only a few spots in his team were safe, suggesting there was an opportunity for anyone to break into his thinking.

“The door is miles open for everybody to get into the team because there are only two or three [players] that have pretty much their spot safe. The boys know that. That’s one thing I’ve told them,” Klopp explained.

He has proven that with his selection at Stamford Bridge, where Liverpool look to reignite their fading top-four hopes.

Want the latest football news? Join our brand new Facebook group by clicking here

Source: Read Full Article