Jurgen Klopp surrounded himself with three of the faces of his Liverpool. They were success stories who defined the style of a team with flying full-backs and goalscoring wingers. They are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson, statistically the two most creative defenders in Premier League history, and Mohamed Salah, the man who has rewritten many a Liverpool scoring record. Klopp kept them close to him, because they were all on the bench at Chelsea on Tuesday.
They have started cup finals against Chelsea. They have started Champions League finals. They have been automatic choices for the marquee matches and almost every match. Between them, they have made 816 appearances for Klopp: only 56 were as substitutes, including the left-back and the right winger’s cameos at Stamford Bridge.
Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, remained an unused replacement. Liverpool had only begun one league game – at Southampton last year, three days after a 120-minute FA Cup final and when Salah was injured – without all three since 2018. Until this week.
It is why there will be particular scrutiny on the teamsheet on Sunday. In the heyday of this Liverpool team, at least nine names could be stencilled onto it for the major occasions – the other decisions related to the third member of the midfield and Virgil van Dijk’s centre-back partner.
Had the Dutchman not been ill, it would have been intriguing if he, too, would have been culled from the side that capitulated in the second half against Manchester City.
Klopp said at the Etihad Stadium he was only satisfied with four players’ performances, namechecking Alisson, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Cody Gakpo. He later amended that to include Diogo Jota, but some of his talismans were conspicuous by their absence. He made six changes at Chelsea.
A one-off, a warning shot or more experimentation from a manager casting around for solutions? Sunday’s selection against Arsenal should be an indication.
The scheduling of three high-pressure games in nine days was a factor. But it came after an international break when England overlooked Alexander-Arnold. “He was one of six but it brought focus on him?” asked Klopp, seemingly irritated but not arguing the right-back was rested.
And, not for the first time, the Merseysider is an emblematic figure. It is normally a compliment, now a criticism. Klopp’s verdict on Alexander-Arnold’s campaign was honest. “Not as good or consistent as he used to be, like pretty much all of the boys,” he said. “Do you expect me to say he played a world-class season and I leave him out anyway? That makes no sense. No, nobody performed on the level we saw and the level we know they can. In moments, yes, of course, great games, fantastic games, super situations but consistently, nobody, no. Him not as well.”
And so Joe Gomez came in for Alexander-Arnold, just as Kostas Tsimikas replaced Robertson and Jota took Salah’s spot on the right wing. Klopp looked to lesser players to provide a platform.
“We have to change, we have to find a basis we can build on,” he said. “First step: intensity, desire, passion. That was good at Chelsea. The rest not so much. But it’s fine, let’s go from there.” It will be intriguing if the next part of the journey again includes the lesser lights. Those he can usually rely on have proved inconsistent. The blueprint has looked broken at times. “I cannot constantly ask for something I didn’t get,” Klopp said.
His squad has been stretched for much of this season. Now, with Van Dijk back, Thiago Alcantara and Luis Diaz likely to return next week and the fixture list thinned by Liverpool’s European exit, there is the chance for a more settled 11. The usual constants may be cornerstones, but Klopp promised it will be a meritocracy. “From now on if you don’t play three times a week then you have more time to train,” he said. “I have to and I will make decisions about the team based on what I saw in training. That opens the door for everyone.”
And then a summer of change awaits. Salah, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold, all with long-term contracts, all with records of achievement, seem at less risk than others, with Klopp adamant his elite players can be as good as ever. But after a week when his impatience became apparent, it is still more evident others are playing for their futures.
For now, it may be relevant that whenever he has found combinations that have offered a step in the right direction this season, he has often persisted with them.
“If we go through this together we can have a massive benefit next year,” he said. “Not guaranteed but a good chance. Then we will see, what changes we make, but it will be a new start next season. With smart recruitment we will improve. That is the plan. I am not a worse manager than last year. And the players are not worse players; they just play worse. We cannot make 24 changes, not even 10, but it is just that we have to make changes.”
Which is what he did at Stamford Bridge, when he omitted the usual untouchables.
