A selection of Liverpool fans seemed to have felt Jurgen Klopp had ulterior motives when he brought Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita off in their Champions League win over KRC Genk on Tuesday night.
The pair were named in the Reds’ starting line-up, but saw their evenings cut short when Klopp made a double change in the 74th-minute and introduced Sadio Mane and Andy Robertson.
Oxlade-Chamberlain had given Liverpool their second go-ahead goal of the tie early into the second-half, when he drove a low shot into the bottom corner on the turn for the would-be match-winner.
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He had begun the game as the de facto striker, as part of a frontline with Divock Origi and Mohamed Salah, from where he would attempt a total of three shots, all from inside the box.
The 33-cap England international also made 22 of his 44 passes in the final third, as well as completing three of his six dribbles, per WhoScored data.
As for Keita, he began the UCL affair on the left-hand side of Klopp’s midfield three, and would end the night with 87 touches, 35 forward passes including one key one, four tackles and five shots, again via WhoScored.
A percentage of Liverpool fans reacted to their club’s tweet announcing Klopp’s double change in the 74th-minute by suggesting the call was with Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City in mind.
Liverpool will host Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues at Anfield this weekend, with a win enough to open a nine-point lead at the top of the table.
Here are some of the messages shared…
