Jurgen Klopp admitted he was pleased with the impact from his Liverpool subs after taking off Mohamed Salah in their win over Sheffield United – because the starting side just weren’t cutting the mustard.
Darwin Nunez gave the Reds the lead in the first half and they were in control of the match, up until Conor Bradley put through his own net to make it 1-1. Then Klopp decided to make a double change with Salah and Ryan Gravenberch coming off for Harvey Elliott and Andy Robertson.
Salah cut a frustrated figure after being hooked. He walked off looking miserable, not even looking at Klopp as he took his seat on the bench. As Liverpool were searching for the winner, Klopp made two more alterations. Dominik Szoboszlai and Joe Gomez were replaced by Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo.
That seemed to wake them up as Liverpool went back in front with 13 minutes to go, with Alexis Mac Allister powering home a blockbuster strike from outside the box. The Reds, who were below par from the majority of the evening, wrapped up the points through substitute Gakpo late on.
Speaking after the game, Klopp admitted his changes made the difference. “Our general game until I think we made the changes was not great, he told TNT Sports. That’s what we have to admit.
“It’s tricky, we had such a low block [from Sheffield United] but you have to do better. I’m really pleased for Cody [Gakpo] who came on and was incredibly good on the ball, scored a wonderful goal. Robbo [Andy Robertson] good, Harvey [Elliott] good, Curtis [Jones] good.
“They were really helpful and that’s how it is; you have to change games from the bench when needed and so I’m really happy with that.”
