Liverpool 2-1 Southampton: How NASA space technology helped Reds beat Saints
Liverpool utilised NASA space technology to help them overcome Southampton in their Premier League clash on Saturday night.
In his article for The Athletic, which requires a subscription to access, James Pearce wrote that the team used advanced methods to help recover in time to play this weekend after the Super Cup victory.
According to Pearce, Liverpool players were told to use a Game Ready icing machine – which was developed by doctors and scientists, with the help of some space suit ideas borrowed from NASA.
It’s a really interesting insight into how the physio and medical team help footballers get over 120 minutes of intense action, which includes an eight hour return journey, and have them at a level that they’ll be able to go again in the Premier League on Saturday.
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For example, James Milner was thought to be a ‘major doubt’ for the Southampton fixture – but overcame his leg bruising to feature in the win. Milner actually picked up another heavy knock, this time a head wound, as he gave his all for Liverpool.
The Game Ready machine works by pushing cold water that’s sourced from a reservoir around a wrap that’s applied to an injured area as well as giving some compression to the effected area.
In conjunction with those advanced medical methods, manager Jurgen Klopp was also able to rotate his midfield to ensure there were fresh legs in vital positions.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was given another start while Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, who both completed heavy shifts on Wednesday, were left on the substitutes bench.
This type of player management will bode well for the rest of the campaign, especially as things will get hectic with Champions League and a title challenge.
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With two domestic cups to compete in as well, the demands on the squad are large. Thankfully, there is cutting edge space technology to help.