‘Why’: TalkSPORT pundit says there was no need for what Jurgen Klopp did in the 79th minute against Leeds

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Jurgen Klopp made a mistake in taking off Trent Alexander-Arnold for James Milner as Liverpool lost to Leeds United on Saturday.

That’s the view of TalkSPORT pundit Jermaine Pennant. Looking back on the weekend’s game on Monday night, Pennant said he couldn’t believe Klopp’s substitutions.

“I want to go to the substitutions. Why are you bringing off Trent Alexander-Arnold, who’s one of the best crossers in the Premier League at the moment, along with Kevin De Bruyne and Reece James. He brings on James Milner. No disrespect, he’s a lovely guy and a great professional, and he’s been absolutely brilliant when he’s come on, but he’s not going to do what Trent can do,” said the former Liverpool winger.

“We’re playing at Anfield, we’re Liverpool, playing against a team who are 18th in the league, in the relegation battle, he shouldn’t be thinking ‘I need to bring on James Milner.'”

Milner was brought on with 11 minutes left to play at Anfield. Offering little going forward, the 36-year-old then allowed Willy Gnonto’s last-minute cross to sneak past him in the build-up to the winning goal.

Milner over-use sums up Liverpool’s current struggles

Klopp’s use of Milner this season is one of the biggest sources of frustration for Liverpool fans.

Now surely into the last year of his Reds career, Milner was supposed to be a bit-part player in 2022/23. So far, that hasn’t proved to be the case at all.

Liverpool’s No.7 has actually played some part in all but one of his team’s matches this season. With every ounce of respect towards Milner, that in its own right goes some way to explaining Liverpool’s struggles.

The Reds have been far less intense than usual this campaign. They’ve struggled to match teams physically week after week.

When you’ve got a 36-year-old being asked to constantly go again in different positions, is this really a surprise?

Again, this isn’t to dig out Milner at all. He has actually done well for large periods, including a stellar display in the win over Manchester City.

But the sight of Milner preparing to come on is quickly turning into the defining image of the season. As rivals turn to £100m players, Liverpool are left looking to a veteran to provide something, anything.

What made this particular substitution all the more baffling from Klopp was that Alexander-Arnold was actually playing well. The right-back has struggled this season but looked sharper on Saturday night. His manager obviously didn’t think so, and Liverpool ultimately paid the price for it.

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