Jurgen Klopp explained his decision to bench Mohamed Salah for Liverpool’s rumble at Crystal Palace.
Salah was benched for the first time in the Premier League this season as the Reds strengthened their position above the table. Significant 7-0 win on Saturday.
The Egyptian was introduced an hour earlier and scored a goal and two – taking him to 16 of 21 games in all competitions this season – to help Liverpool Record the biggest success they have had in top aviation history.
Globe pointed to Salah’s successive starts to be excluded from the starting line-up.
“What’s his plan to start? It’s easy,” said the Reds boss.
“This is the first time we have had an opportunity to do something like this.
“We played on Sunday and Wednesday, so it was clear we needed new legs today.
“Joel (stairs) might come in, Nabi (Gita) might come in, and then we had to think about how we could tackle it forward.
“Moe has only missed seven minutes from the last four games, which is a serious period, so it was clear he was the one.
“Games with Crystal Palace were usually tight and close, so I thought it would be a good idea to bring him in for the last half hour.
“We did it, but of course it’s not the situation we expected.”
Salah was replaced by Takumi Minamino on the Eleven team, who opened the scoring three minutes later and put in an amazing performance on the left, having recently worked in midfield.
“We like to use Talkie,” Klopp said. “The way we play, if you play for us in the midfield, you have to have attacking skills, which means the talkie can play there.
“He played there a couple of times, he did well, but more importantly he was very sharp and in good form in training and that’s why he was fighting for a place today.
“He played a great game and had a good finish (his goal). He’s in a good moment, so we have to use him.
“I saw him in the dressing room after the game. You could not avoid the smile on his face.”
Get all the latest Liverpool injury and team news as the globe picks up the dilemma, and key news and analysis on what’s next for the Reds.
You will receive the latest exchange talk and analysis every day straight to your inbox through our free email newsletter.
Two goals from Roberto Firmino and one goal each from Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane completed the way, confirming that Liverpool are top of the table for the third year in a row.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his first appearance this season in a cameo that came off the bench late after overcoming a knee problem.
Globe added: “No one was injured. We will take it with us and move on.”
