Nothing quite went right for Liverpool at Old Trafford yesterday. Liverpool may have dominated the game but they never looked like they were cruising through the match. The home side were determined and in the end through a touch of fortune got what they desperately desired.
For Liverpool there is no denying yesterday’s defeat was a blow. Jurgen Klopp’s players had been determined to win a quadruple and fight on all four fronts until the very end of the season. That plan has now been blown asunder.
It hurts because Liverpool only have themselves to blame. It was ultimately a poor performance from the Reds with individual errors which led to their collapse against Manchester United. However, in the context of Liverpool’s season – considering how many minutes the Reds have played recently perhaps the result wasn’t that surprising.
As Jurgen Klopp revealed in his post-match press conference, he had some players who were exhausted and probably would have subbed off if he had an unlimited amount of substitutions.
Three Liverpool players Jurgen Klopp wanted to sub off
Speaking as per the club’s official website, Jurgen Klopp named three players in Alexis Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and Darwin Nunez, who he could have taken off in the game.
“You just saw, we could have [taken off] Macca definitely, Wataru [Endo] definitely, Darwin [Nunez] definitely, Lucho [Diaz] we did then, Joey [Gomez]. They play all the time the boys and today, this extra-time,” Klopp said.
However, there were other priorities to think about as well. Dominik Szoboszlai’s and Mohamed Salah’s minutes had to be managed as both have only recently returned from action after injuries. On the other hand, both Joe Gomez and Luis Diaz had played a lot of minutes recently as well and they were due a rest.
Meanwhile, Andy Robertson had struggled in this game, and it made sense to take him off. The Scotsman just couldn’t find his rhythm and it was a game to forget for the 30-year-old.
All in all, there is no point ruing what might have been. This was a jaded Liverpool side, who had run themselves into the ground. But there is still plenty left to fight for during the rest of the season.