Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Leicester City to crash out of the Carabao Cup but the German manager was adamant that he didn’t regret his decision to substitute Philippe Coutinho at half-time.
“That was the plan before the game, he needs match time but it was not for a second the plan (to keep him on) and it was not allowed to let him play again for 90 minutes, or 60 or 70 or 80 or whatever,” Klopp said at the post-match press conference.
Coutinho, who had pushed for a move away from Barcelona in the summer, didn’t feature for Liverpool till the transfer deadline had passed due to a ‘back’ injury.
“It was clear that 45 is the limit, we need to make him fit but we cannot push him through. That’s all,” Klopp added.
Interestingly, the 25-year-old featured for Brazil during the international break after his personal doctor cleared him to play.
Since then, the twinkle-toed midfielder has made just one start, in the 1-1 draw against Burnley at the weekend, and his return has coincided with a dreadful run of form for the Reds.
A 5-0 hammering at Manchester City followed by consecutive draws with Sevilla (Champions League) and Burnley have threatened to derail Liverpool’s season.
When asked whether the midfielder’s recovery was on progress as expected, Klopp responded: Yes, of course. 80 something (minutes) at the weekend and then 45 today”.
Liverpool have a chance to get revenge on Leicester for their League Cup exit as they visit the Foxes for the second time in a week on Saturday night for their Premier League fixture and Klopp will hope his Brazilian maestro fires the team to three points.