Jurgen Klopp has explained his decision to leave out Fabinho against Tottenham with the Brazil international set to be recalled for Liverpool's Premier League showdown at Southampton on Friday night.
The Reds boss sprung a surprise when he overlooked the £40million man and fielded a midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum at Anfield last weekend.
Prior to his late introduction, Fabinho's presence was missed as title-chasing Liverpool lost their way in the second half and rode their luck prior to Toby Alderweireld's own goal.
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But Klopp insists it was the right call considering what he had witnessed at Melwood and the kind of threat he knew Spurs would pose.
“Fab couldn't train one day a little bit, not long enough to really know how he reacts after the international break,” Klopp revealed.
“Not playing (for Brazil) but flying a lot and training a lot. If you are not playing then you train more than the other players. Ask Ali (Alisson Becker) or Bobby (Firmino) how much Fab trained. It was clear that he would come on.
“On the other side, Hendo trained outstandingly well, Milly as well. Gini was not involved as much in training but I've known him longer and I expected him to do well.
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“This was the situation. It's also about who is used to who in the positioning and the opponent. It wasn't 100% clear what system Tottenham would play before the game.
“We chose a formation that we thought would enable us to adapt pretty quick to it. We didn't but that wasn't only because of the midfield.”
Having analysed the contest with Spurs, Klopp is convinced that the centre of the park wasn't really the issue as Liverpool lost control.
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“Our front three defended exactly the same way against the four (at the back) as they did for the five and that made the spaces too big for the rest,” Klopp added.
“We didn't adapt quickly enough and that wasn't good. But it happened and that was the explanation.
“The selection is always about me trying to guess what will happen and what I see in training if there is something to see - that makes the line up.”
