Jurgen Klopp explains his decision to take off Darwin Nunez as Liverpool were knocked out by Real Madrid in the round of 16.
The striker was subbed off along with Diogo Jota with over half an hour to play. Eventually, Madrid got the better of the Reds after Benzema scored in a 1-0 (6-2 aggregate) victory to send the Merseyside club crashing out of the competition.
The former Premier League champions started with a four-man attack with Nunez, Salah, Jota, and Gakpo while trying to overturn a 5-2 deficit from the home leg.
The Reds were poor in creating chances up front while Alisson kept them in the game, eventually conceding to a 78th-minute strike from Benzema. The game finished 1-0, while the aggregate score was 6-2, which made for an emphatic victory for the Los Blancos.
While speaking in his post-match press conference, Klopp admitted to his Liverpool decisions. The German boss admitted that the Spanish side deserved to move to the next round. He even admitted that the Los Blancos were the team in control of the game for the most part.
Although Klopp praised Alisson after his two brilliant saves, eventually he agreed that Madrid were the better team.
Klopp Liverpool decision: Striker off while chasing the game
The German made a double substitution in the 57th minute, taking off Nunez and Jota to bring in Firmino and Elliot. The withdrawal of Nunez, in particular, has been scrutinized by supporters with Liverpool in desperate need of goals.
Klopp went on to comment on his decision.
“For Diogo, it was clear that he should not play now extremely long because he is still coming back from a long, long injury. You could see the game got harder and harder for him, little fouls there, one, two, three, he is not a player who is usually fouling so perhaps he comes a bit late. So, no risk with him and we have options on the bench.
Yes, Darwin looked like he was not on the absolute top level as well and then we need to defend that side as well because conceding a goal is not helpful in that situation. Yeah, we can change there, that’s why we did it. We wanted to mix it a little bit, that’s true.”
I’m a football enthusiast and an avid writer and someone who lives by the Bill Shankly quote, on a day to day basis.
