Jurgen Klopp has explained his decision to bench Mohamed Salah for Liverpool’s romp at Crystal Palace.
Salah was benched for the first time in the Premier League this season as the Reds strengthened their position at the top of the table with a remarkable 7-0 win on Saturday.
The Egyptian was introduced shortly before the hour and went on to set up one goal and score twice – taking him to 16 in 21 games in all competitions this season – to help Liverpool record their biggest-ever away win in top-flight history.
And Klopp pointed to Salah’s run of successive starts as reason for his exclusion from the starting line-up.
“What was the plan for him not starting? That’s easy,” said the Reds boss.
“It’s the first time in a while we had an opportunity to do something like this.
“We played Sunday and Wednesday, so it was clear we needed fresh legs today.
“Joel (Matip) could come in, Naby (Keita) could come in, and then we had to think about how we can deal with that in the forward line.
“Mo had missed only seven minutes from the last four games, a massively intense period, so it was clear it would be him.
“The games with Crystal Palace have usually been tight and close, so bringing him on for the last half-hour I thought was a good idea.
“We did that, but it was not exactly the scenario we would have expected, of course.”
Salah was replaced in the XI by Takumi Minamino, who opened the scoring after only three minutes and produced an impressive performance on the left wing having recently been employed in midfield.
“We want to use Taki,” said Klopp. “The way we play, if you play for us in midfield you need to have offensive skills as well, it means Taki can play there.
“He played there twice, he did good, but even more importantly in training he looked really sharp and in really good shape. That’s why he was fighting for a place today.
“He played a top game and had a nice finish (for his goal). He is in a good moment so we have to use him.
“I saw him in the dressing room after the game and you couldn’t avoid the smile on his face.”
Two goals from Roberto Firmino and one each from Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane completed the rout, which ensures Liverpool are top at Christmas for the third successive year.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his first appearance of the season in a late cameo from the bench after recovering from a knee problem.
And Klopp added: “Nobody picked up any injuries. We will take that with us and move forward.”
