Jurgen Klopp surprised many with his five changes at Craven Cottage, and he has now explained why the likes of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister start from the bench.
Sunday’s trip to Fulham is the first of three away games in less than a week, with fixtures against Everton and West Ham to swiftly follow.
Rotation was to be on the cards throughout this run, but Klopp’s call to name a starting lineup without Salah, Nunez, Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai raised eyebrows.
In their place, Harvey Elliott, Ryan Gravenberch, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo all start, and ahead of the match, Klopp explained the reasoning behind his team selection to Sky Sports.
He said: “We play three super important games in six days, I hate thinking about the game after the one in front of us but, in our situation, we cannot ignore the fact.
“We have to make changes to get fresh legs in, to use the squad. It’s the best situation we’ve had squad-wise all year, that’s why we do it.”
Confirmed Liverpool XI vs. Fulham: 5 big changes as Jota starts
Klopp added: “We need them all, they will either start or come on, that’s the situation and I don’t know what’s more important, to be honest, both are super important.
“We need to be here 100 percent for 95 minutes and we need them all.”
With the interview starting by asking what the reason was behind benching Salah, Klopp insisted that he “spoke to Mo and things are fine, he will come on.”
The manager will know his selection has created debate, but it is understandable why he has pulled the trigger at Craven Cottage knowing there are two more games in quick succession to come.
It is a side capable of getting the job done and, hopefully, the bench will not be needed to clinch a result, but rather enhance it – but it is at least encouraging that the options are growing.
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