After Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat to Everton many fans were left baffled as Jayden Danns went unused, but Jurgen Klopp has explained why he did not bring him on.
The Reds were toothless up front again on Wednesday night, with Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez particularly poor as they failed to convert big chances.
Throughout the 90-plus minutes at Goodison Park, one of Liverpool’s most natural finishers – a youngster who has been in sensational form all season – was left unused.
Danns spent the night watching on, with Salah, Nunez and Luis Diaz playing the full game, much to the frustration of supporters.
But in his post-match press conference, Klopp explained his decision not to use Danns, who in the manager’s defence had clocked 75 minutes in Liverpool U21s’ 2-1 loss at Sunderland only two nights previous.
“I know we had Dannsy on the bench, I know, but in that physical game, I didn’t want to [risk him],” Klopp said.
“And he played [on Monday], obviously we didn’t know that we’d have to bring him in.
“The two situations, with Diogo we only learned two days ago and Cody actually only really today.
“So now that’s not a game for an 18-year-old boy. Tarkowski and Branthwaite kill you in these situations and that doesn’t help.”
While Diogo Jota picked up a knock in the 3-1 win at Fulham on Sunday, scans on his hip were not clear until the following day, while Cody Gakpo left the squad at the last minute to support his partner during labour.
That forced a late reshuffle of the ranks with both Danns and Bobby Clark brought onto the bench having played on Monday.
Still, the assertion that Tarkowski and Branthwaite would “kill” Danns is a questionable one, given how laughably Salah and Nunez performed.
Would Danns have fared any worse at a time when Liverpool really needed to roll the dice in the hopes of a comeback?
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