Sunday saw Liverpool held to a disappointing draw with Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup. The Salop were brave as they came back from two goals down to force a return leg at Anfield. Jürgen Klopp has said that the FA Cup replay will feature the U23 side and will be managed by Neil Critchley – this approach is spot on from the gaffer.
The Reds dominated the first half, going one up early on when Pedro Chirivella‘s inch perfect pass found Curtis Jones in space with the Scouser comfortably slipping it past the Shrewsbury Town keeper.
An own goal early in the second half seemed to have killed the game but a brave Shrewsbury side recovered through a penalty and a smartly taken finish.
The Reds can consider themselves unlucky with the penalty call being questionable, Yasser Larouci appeared to foul his man outside the box.
Speaking after the game Jürgen Klopp told the BBC that Neil Critchley will take charge of the team in the replay, with the U23s set to makeup the squad.
The German defended his decision saying, “The Premier League asked us to respect the winter break. That’s what we do. If the FA doesn’t respect that, then we cannot change it. We will not be there.”
So, why is he getting so much stick?
The Twittersphere has been awash with criticism of the gaffer, accusing him of spoiling the magic of the competition.
However, as the boss pointed out, he was told to rest his players.
It is not Jürgen’s fault that the Premier League and the FA aren’t on the same page.
The boss was told to respect the break, to rest his players. He is merely following the instructions of the league.
The Reds played a game ever three days for six weeks straight over the festive period, when he’s been told to rest his players he will take that opportunity with gratitude.
We are competing for a first league title in 30 years and fighting to retain the Champions League, keeping our first team fit and fighting is essential.
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