Phil Thompson ‘worried’ about Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool FC
Phil Thompson admits he was not happy about Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool FC team selection for the Merseyside derby
Phil Thompson has admitted that he was “worried” that Jurgen Klopp did not appreciate the magnitude of the Merseyside derby on Sunday because of his Liverpool FC team selection.
The German coach opted to ring the changes and left the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino on the bench, as he instead started Dominic Solanke up front.
Liverpool FC took the lead through Mohamed Salah, but they were pegged back in the second half when Wayne Rooney fired home his penalty to nick a point for the Toffees.
With Klopp having left so many of his key players on the bench, questions have inevitably been raised about the German coach’s team selection for Sunday’s game.
And former Liverpool FC star Thompson has admitted that he was very surprised by the way Klopp opted to drop some of his key starts for the derby showdown.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Thompson said: “We, as Liverpool fans, have moaned about the rotation for a few weeks and it has come off previously, but this is a derby game. You play your best team in the derby.
“That selection worried me that he didn’t understand how big a game it was. He’s gone with a team to beat a mid-table team rather than win a derby game.
“If it was Manchester United he would have played a full-strength side, so it was maybe a bit of complacency as well as the rotation.
“It’s always a risk rotating and for this game I just can’t get my head around it as a Liverpool fan.
“I know it was important to him but we’ve all been fans for our lives. We knew they would park three buses and we needed that bit of craft which Coutinho brings. I’d have also kept Mohamed Salah on.”
Liverpool FC will dust themselves down and aim to return to winning ways in the Premier League on Wednesday night when they host West Bromwich Albion at Anfield.
The Merseyside outfit are aiming to improve on their fourth-placed finish in the top flight last term, in what was Klopp’s first full campaign in charge at the club.
