Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said he replaced experienced midfielder James Milner in the second half of the 3-1 win over West Ham United because of his concern about further injuries.
Klopp and Milner got involved in a little sideline when Klopp launched Curtis Jones, but a minute later they were all smiles when Jones got involved in preparing for Mohamed Salah’s opening goal.
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It was easy to understand Klopp’s concern given the amount of injuries of important players this season – notably in defense, with Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez long absent and now Joel Matip also unavailable.
Striker Sadio Mane also missed Sunday’s game, while Roberto Firmino took no chances from the start.
“My mood is constantly concerned with injuries … and we try to save everyone, as it did for Millie too,” said Klopp.
“But as far as I know at the moment, nothing happened today due to injuries. We played a good game and won three points, which was absolutely fantastic.”
Klopp explained that he took out Milner because he was running so fast.
“So the question is, during the break we changed the formation, the offensive formation, then the pitch. Millie was a little deeper. We told Millie, because he had a tendon [that] it hardened up a little bit, so we said to him, ‘Be controlled, passing more than running with the ball’ and things like that.
“So I saw the last long, long run that Millie had done and I thought, ‘Oh, we missed the point, we missed the moment’ and I was very, very worried.
“Then he came and said, ‘You told me I had to play deeper, now I run less and now you take me out.’ Then he went out and came back and said, ‘Yes, by the way, good point, good decision!’ It’s all right.”
Liverpool’s victory, the second of the week in London, after a midweek victory over Tottenham Hotspur, placed the team in third place, four points behind leaders Manchester City, who receive next weekend.
“If you want to win the championship, you have to win every game,” said Salah, who scored twice and has not joined the league since mid-December. “This year City was fighting at the beginning and now we have been fighting for three or four games.
“So, we just need to keep going and keep winning.”