Here are four key takeaways from Klopp after the stalemate:
“If you can’t win, don’t lose”
Having already dropped points three times in the league before the Merseyside derby, it’s not exactly the outlook Liverpool fans want at this stage. The Reds didn’t have their chances to make it three wins on the spin, but equally Alisson ensured they even had the chance to do so. “We fought, we didn’t always play extremely well but we created enough, we had top chances but we didn’t use them and then you can’t score,” Klopp said. “But like I said, if you can’t win the derby, don’t lose it.”
“Dead leg” for Carvalios
A half-time change came Favio Carvalho’s way after a knock to his knee left him with a painful dead leg and a doubt for Wednesday’s trip to Napoli. “Not bad, it’s extremely painful. It’s a dead leg in the muscles above the knee and he couldn’t bend the knee anymore,” Klopp said of the injury. “We have to see how quickly it settles. You could see he tried, but you could see he couldn’t run right, we just waited until half-time to make the change.” Fortunately it’s not serious, it’s just a matter of waiting for the issue to settle. But it’s the last thing Liverpool wanted.
Salah’s positioning
Mohamed Salah played a peripheral role throughout the derby, which has been a noticeable trend for fans throughout the season so far. His wide position has been given to Klopp, who does not believe the No.11 is too far from the central positions any more than he would like. “It’s no more than other seasons, or whatever, I’m not sure what you’re seeing there. “We want to have Mo there in that position, but we want to have Mo, we’ve always had him, more often and in central positions. “Today especially we wanted to use the boys a bit more centrally, but we didn’t have a lot of training time, obviously. “I talked a lot, but I wasn’t sure I was clear enough in the first half about exactly what I wanted. “I don’t think in the season it’s wide very often, but today in a few moments, yes.”
Why was Trent replaced?
It wasn’t the best performance for Trent Alexander-Arnold, as Klopp admitted, he was replaced by James Milner. His change was made with game management in mind, the coach said as he wants to keep the backs as fresh as possible. “Must [manage his game time]. Where can we change right now? “With players coming in and coming back, Arthur is here now and will be very important for us, but he hasn’t played football for a long time. “Then who do we have on the bench? Milly can play in midfield in both full-back positions and I thought it made sense to bring fresh legs there. “Trent plays all the time, Robbo plays all the time, and from time to time we have substitutes and so we have to use them to bring fresh energy. “It’s not about performances, even when I know Trent can play better than he did today. For sure.”
