Jurgen Klopp’s young Reds did not always find a regular Liverpool side when they traveled to Belgium on Thursday.They finished top of their Europa League group and were guaranteed a place in the last 16 in March, but failed to win anything against Union SG at Lotto Park.
Klopp therefore made nine changes to his side against rivals Manchester United at home on Sunday, with eight academy graduates starting without Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson Becker.
With an average age of 22 years and 156 days, he is the youngest player to start in Liverpool’s 11th European competition. But for some, that wasn’t enough. Fans were surprised to see Ibrahima Konate in the starting line-up, while Darwin Nunez came on a bit later.
Kopiteh’s anxiety is understandable given the Premier League visits of Arsenal and Newcastle United over the festive period, the Boxing Day trip to Burnley and the League Cup quarter-final against West Ham United. After all, United have a long injury list and viewers will remember that Diogo Jota was ruled out for three months with a knee injury sustained in the Champions League win against Midtjylland in December 2020.
Liverpool brace for Alisson injury, criticism will justify Jurgen Klopp’s furyFortunately, Liverpool seem to have played well in this Europa League match without any problems. But when it comes to picking a team to face Union SG, Klopp will be damned if he goes and damned if he doesn’t.
A young team always needs a lot of experience to guide the younger team members. Otherwise, you’re undermining the benefits of teaching first-team football. Famous stars are always needed.Concerns about Konate in particular are understandable given Joel Matip was lost to an ACL injury for a season and the Frenchman’s personal injury history.
However, his name was changed to Joe Gomez and he replaced him as the default substitute at half-time. The argument remains the same.It’s a tactic Klopp has used often in European matches, splitting the 45 minutes of play between his senior stars, leaving five substitutes in the game. No wonder he did it again against Union SG.
Konate wasn’t the only player substituted at half-time against Belgium. Wataru Endo was also replaced by Ryan Gravenbirch. The same could not be said for the Japan international after his poor performance against Crystal Palace on Saturday.However, the rejection was made for a number of reasons, including Sunday’s game against Manchester United and an eye on future fixtures.
Klopp has confirmed that his side will play without Alexis McAllister against the Red Devils. Do not forget.Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Union SG barely registered. The best part of Thursday night was that we got injury free and the focus immediately shifted to the weekend.Was it a gamble for your seniors to play for the Reds? may be.
However, unlike his loss to Jota three years ago, this decision was not overturned. Now that both have been ruled out at half-time in Belgium, it would be surprising if Konate and Endo are not selected to face Erik Ten Hag’s under-pressure side on Sunday.Alexis McAllister is causing fury at Liverpool – but Jurgen Klopp sees a funny sideJamie Carragher believes title rivals Liverpool have signed Virgil van Dijk.
The £10 Primark bag looks like a designer version of the £690 Neous.Gakpo can’t risk itThe last time Manchester United visited Anfield, it was confirmed that Roberto Firmino would be leaving Liverpool at the end of his contract. But with the signing of Cody Gakpo last January, the Reds appeared to have found a long-term replacement for the veteran Brazilian.
The Netherlands international scored twice in a historic 7-0 win that day and finished the first half of the season with seven goals and two assists in 26 appearances for Merseyside. But as the 24-year-old approaches his first anniversary at Liverpool, his position at the top of the table is now very different.
Darwin Nunez and Diogo Yota have both surpassed their six-goal tally so far this season and appear to have overtaken the Dutchman as the Reds’ centre-forward. As a result, Gakpo has been limited to just seven Premier League starts and has reached the 11th round of the Europa League in recent weeks.
As one of the key stars picked against Union SG, he has an opportunity to change that narrative. But when the 90 minutes were over, he appeared anonymous.
