Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has explained the differing reasons behind the substitutions of three of his most prominent players in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid.
The Reds trail 1-0 after the first leg of their last-16 tie in the Spanish capital, where Saul Niguez struck after just four minutes.
Liverpool enjoyed plenty of possession throughout the match, but were unable to seriously test Jan Oblak in the home goal.
Klopp took Sadio Mane off at half-time at the Wanda Metropolitano, with Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson also departing the action early.
Divock Origi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner were all brought on from the bench.
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Klopp said that he had no choice but to take Mane off when he did due to Atletico’s reaction to a yellow card he picked up in the first half.
“Obviously, the plan tonight was get Sadio out of the game with a yellow card,” the German told his post-match press conference.
“I was afraid his opponent would go down now even if Sadio takes a deep breath or whatever and I didn’t want to have that situation, so that’s why we took him off.”
Salah had a frustrating night with chances at a premium, while captain Henderson limped off with 10 minutes remaining.
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“Mo was just a tactical change, that’s all. We wanted to change a little bit and that’s what we did,” Klopp continued.
“Hendo felt his hamstring, unfortunately. We have to wait. He was not too concerned but enough to go off obviously.”
Liverpool welcome Atletico back to Anfield for the second leg on March 11, with Klopp seeking to preserve his proud record of having never lost a two-legged tie when in charge of the Reds.
