Gary Neville has claimed that Jurgen Klopp got the timing of his substitutes completely wrong for Liverpool today against Manchester United.
The Reds were held to a 0-0 draw at Anfield as the Merseyside giants were unable to reclaim their spot at the top of the Premier League with Arsenal and Aston Villa both winning earlier today.
With the likes of Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai failing to impress, it was a poor day at the office for Liverpool despite United’s form going into this match.
And speaking post-match on Sky Sports, Neville pinpointed Klopp’s first set of substitutes and tactical tweaks as something that changed the game in United’s favour.
Neville said when talking about what Klopp got wrong today against United: “Jurgen Klopp usually gets his substitutes right 99 times out of 100.
“But today I think his first set of substitutes caused a real problem when they went into the 4-2-4 formation, they had to solve that problem and it caused an imbalance.”
Jurgen Klopp got it wrong for Liverpool against Manchester United
As Neville himself states, Klopp is a manager who has mastered the art of when to make substitutes and who to bring on to change a game.
Yet the Liverpool manager got it wrong today against United, with Klopp’s decision to bring off Szoboszlai one that brought energy away from Liverpool’s midfield.
Indeed, whilst a draw isn’t disastrous, today will feel like points lost for Liverpool with Manchester City being held at home to Crystal Palace yesterday.
And looking back on the game, Klopp might realise he made a mistake in his first set of substitutes, with Liverpool missing a big chance to widen the gap between them and City in the league.
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