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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
David Maddock

Jurgen Klopp bemoans "insane" Liverpool schedule as he fires Inter Milan warning

Jurgen Klopp insists that Liverpool only know one way to play: and that is on the front foot.

The Reds boss has vowed that his side will not sit back and try to defend their 2-0 lead against Inter, when they meet in the Champions League last 16 second leg at Anfield on Tuesday.

Instead they will “attack the game”, and Klopp revealed he will be helped massively in that ambition by the return of all three injured players who have been on the sidelines recently.

Two are likely to play from the start, with Thiago and Joel Matip both coming through a training session to prove their fitness for the tie, while Roberto Firmino will be on the bench, given his three week absence.

Klopp though, knows the changes will help him keep his team fresh, and he said: “We know Inter are a really good team, and they don’t come here as tourists.

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 16: Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool talks in a press conference following the UEFA Champions League Round Of Sixteen Leg One match between Inter and Liverpool FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 16, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Tullio Puglia - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images) (Tullio Puglia - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

“They want to attack the game, but we are a team who always want to attack the game - and that is what we try to do.

“We are not a team who sits back and defends results, trying to find a way through, we want to attack the game again.”

Klopp believes his side couldn’t navigate what he calls an ‘insane’ schedule without making wholesale changes, and he will do that again on Tuesday.

But he now has a fully fit squad with the return of the three injured players, and he said: “All trained yesterday fully. I'm not sure yet what we make of that exactly, to be honest, because we have to see how they react.

"So, Thiago was only a week out, probably will be fine but we have to wait for it. Joel was only three or four days I think, so he is fine, I would say.

"With Bobby, it was longer out, it was [his] first session, so we have to see if we have to stress that or if it makes probably sense to give him just a few more days with proper training.

“Because we obviously don't train properly today, it’s a minus-one session, it's tactical stuff, not high intensity and Bobby might need something else. We will see that. But they are all in training."

Klopp knows his team must be wary of Inter’s threat up front, and he has warned his side they must not become complacent, and believe that their two goal buffer from the first leg is enough.

“2-0 is the lead that has been turned over most often in football. If you are half-time and two up and you think you are already through, then you are already on the wrong path.

“The result was a lot better than I expected, really tough tie and difficult game to play, and they made it very difficult for us. But let's see what we can get from it, we will go with all we have.”

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