Jurgen Klopp has defended Naby Keita after controversially substituting him before half-time during Tuesday's defeat to Real Madrid.
Something of a surprise starter in the first leg of the Reds' Champions League quarter-final, the Guinean lasted just 42 minutes before being withdrawn for Thiago Alcantara.
Klopp later confirmed that the decision was tactical rather than relating to injury, marking the latest disappointing chapter in an Anfield career that has yet to get going.
Largely as a result of persistent fitness issues, Keita has struggled to make a major impact since joining Liverpool from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2018.
However, his manager remains positive about his contributions since then, and revealed on Friday that the pair had discussed his early withdrawal in Madrid.
He said: "Naby showed [his best], I'm not sure how often to the full extent, but he showed it.
"He played important games for us, great games for us, scored important goals for us, that's all the truth.
"But you ask probably because of the early substitution in the last game and it was just a decision I made in that moment.
"We had to sort the game for us and it was difficult to do that without making a change.
"Yesterday we spoke and everything is okay, I explained the decision and he accepted it obviously. So now we carry on."
