Liverpool were in full control as they coasted through to the Europa League quarter-finals this evening.
It was always likely to be a comfortable night for the Reds, as they took a 5-1 lead into the second-leg at Anfield. As it turned out, comfortable was didn’t do it justice. Liverpool had the slippers out from around 14 minutes in. 4-0 up. Good night.
Heading into the final 20 minutes or so of the game, the score read 6-1 to the Reds. 11-2 on aggregate. The tie had been done and dusted for quite some time. Nevertheless, Jurgen Klopp saw fit to bring on captain Virgil van Dijk for the final stretch of the game. Commentating for TNT Sports though, Steve McManaman claimed that the manager’s decision will be questioned by some.
“Looks like Virgil van Dijk is going to come on! That’s extremely surprising isn’t it,” said the former Liverpool winger.
“When has Jurgen Klopp ever been predictable?! You can see the manager’s not sentimental at all. He’s got something in his mind for Sunday, how long he wants to play everybody for. He’s not putting any of the kids on.
“People will question why in case he gets injured, but if he needs minutes and the manager thinks he needs minutes then the professional thing is this.”
McManaman questions Van Dijk sub
With Liverpool so clearly romping through, it did seem a little strange for Klopp to chuck his captain into the mix.
Perhaps the strangest thing about it was that Van Dijk came on on an unfamiliar right-sided centre-back role, with Andy Robertson his left-sided partner at the back.
Despite the unnecessary nature of the substitution though, we can kind of understand why Klopp did it.
The Reds have real momentum right now. When you’ve got that in football you need to do whatever you can to maintain it. Especially so close to the end of the season.
Had the manager left out too many of his senior players for the full game, it could have disrupted the rhythm they’ve worked so hard to build.
Even if a comfortable win had been claimed, it wouldn’t have mattered. The momentum could have been lost.
As a result, we get it from Jurgen. Van Dijk certainly wasn’t needed, just like Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai didn’t need to play 90 minutes. But it all helps.
Salah and Szoboszlai in particular should now be fully up to speed for Sunday’s cup tie with Manchester United. As for Van Dijk, he was ready anyway, but a stroll at Anfield never did anyone any harm. People shouldn’t be questioning too hard.
