‘You could see how unhappy he was’ – Former Man United star loved what Klopp did at half-time
Jurgen Klopp received praise from EX-Manchester United player Peter Schmeichel for his tactical substitutions during Liverpool’s comeback victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Liverpool had a slow start in the game and were fortunate to only concede one goal before halftime.
Pedro Neto took advantage of Liverpool’s makeshift defense to set up Hwang Hee-chan’s opening goal, forcing Klopp to rethink his approach during the halftime break.
Klopp’s key change was bringing on Luis Diaz in place of Alexis Mac Allister, which led to Liverpool adopting a 4-4-2 formation.
This adjustment quickly paid off as Cody Gakpo scored the equalizer. Klopp also introduced Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott during the second half to inject fresh energy into his team.
It took two late goals for Liverpool to secure the victory, but Klopp’s ability to address the team’s early issues was praised by pundit Peter Schmeichel.
Peter Schmeichel impressed by Jurgen Klopp
Schmeichel, a former Manchester United icon, noted the increased directness and energy Liverpool displayed in the second half and credited Klopp for motivating his team during halftime.
“You also saw from that clip, how direct and how much more energy that Liverpool came out with in the second half,”
The Manchester United icon further added saying,
He (Klopp) must have had a big, big half-time talk. He was so unhappy in the first half. But they came out in the second and delivered.
I don’t know what he told Mac Allister. ‘Go and sit on the naughty step?’ He was the first one out, so when Diaz was actually being prepared to come on, he was behind. You could see how unhappy he was. But it’s great managerial work. Every substitution he made worked.”
He humorously speculated about what Klopp might have told Mac Allister, who seemed unhappy about being substituted.
Klopp, in his post-match comments, revealed that Mac Allister had been grateful for the substitution due to fatigue because he had played in both World Cup qualifiers for Argentina during the international break and was at risk of receiving a second yellow card.
