‘Warning sign’: Klopp says he spotted £20m Liverpool man doing something which worried him against West Ham

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Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he substituted Thiago Alcantara for Liverpool last night as an injury precaution.

The 31-year-old was taken off along with Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho just before the hour mark. And speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, Klopp said he’d seen a ‘warning sign’ that Thiago needed to come off.

“Thiago stretched once on the pitch which for me is a warning sign. We have to react to everything, so it was clear we have to change him,” said the Liverpool boss. Klopp also said Darwin Nunez was taken off for a similar reason.

“With Darwin, half time, everyone is saying ‘no, it’s fine, it’s fine,’ but when somebody is five minutes on the [treatment] bed, I’m concerned as well,” he explained. “They are all okay, I think we picked them all [off] at the right moment.”

Thank goodness for that. The last thing Liverpool need is more injuries.

Klopp not taking any risks with key men

This is great management from Jurgen. It’s probably true that the substitutions made Liverpool look a little worse off last night. That’s been a bit of a worrying theme recently, but when there’s doubt over a player, it’s still the right call to make.

Liverpool would much rather drop their performance levels for half an hour and still win, rather than have either of these two players missing for a little while.

Both Thiago and Darwin will both be very important players as the hectic schedule continues for Liverpool.

Thiago’s value is clear. The Reds are a little shorn of top quality in midfield and the £20m man is the one absolute shoo-in there at the moment.

And with Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz facing long-term injuries, Nunez’s importance has also increased since the weekend.

Liverpool have barely any time to turn around before they face Nottingham Forest on Saturday lunchtime. Given Klopp’s comments here, it would perhaps be a surprise to see either Thiago or Nunez start at the City Ground.

That may depend on how they react to training tomorrow. But if there’s any doubt that either isn’t quite ready, Liverpool should hold off on playing them.

What the team then looks like is anyone’s guess. One thing is clear though – Liverpool must make it to next month’s World Cup break with their current squad intact.

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