Liverpool vs Man Utd: Fans have massive beef with one tactical decision
Liverpool played out a bore draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday and fans have one massive beef with Jurgen Klopp.
It’s not often that you hear Klopp criticized. The German gaffer is normally spot on with his selection, tactics and execution. But one moment has been picked out, while there were other minor quibbles about Klopp’s starting XI.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was relegated to the substitute’s bench in favour of James Milner, while Naby Keita was dropped as Fabinho came back into midfield.
The other decision Klopp had to make came after Roberto Firmino limped off with an ankle problem. The manager turned to his recognized striker, Daniel Sturridge, but could a better call have been made?
"Klopp at FT: "Fucking hell, what a shit game" from LiverpoolFC"
Liverpool fans on Reddit certainly thought so, and there was some interesting debate sparked on their threads. Click the link below to read more!
With Xherdan Shaqiri on the bench, Klopp could have shifted Mohamed Salah into the middle and played Shaqiri on the right wing.
Keita’s energy and dribbling ability from midfield was also missed as fans complained about a lack of dynamism from Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and Fabinho.
As for Keita, the former RB Leipzig man has been in decent form and there’s no reason why Klopp wouldn’t pick the midfielder against the Hornets or the Blues. With less threatening squads, the German can afford to be more adventurous with his picks.
But, Klopp’s team also kept a clean sheet and came away from Old Trafford with a point – which must count for something. A loss would have allowed Manchester City to get a firm grip on the top of the table, and now the Reds are still leading the pack.
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With a game on Wednesday against Watford and the Merseyside derby on Sunday, there will be plenty of chances for alternate formations and combinations to be used. If Firmino does miss any of those fixtures, you’d expect Salah to be played as a central striker with Shaqiri on the wings.