Coach Klopp was angry because Liverpool played at noon
Liverpool will be a guest of Wolves at 12:30 pm London time today, the earliest time frame of the Premier League, with many players who have just played with the team. Last season, Liverpool did not win all six matches played in this time frame, drawing with Fulham, Everton, Chelsea and losing to Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, and Man City.
During the press conference before the match against Wolves, when the reporter asked whether Liverpool had difficulty playing at 12:30 or the problem was lack of preparation time, Klopp angrily replied: "Are you serious with this question? Are you serious?" understand what the difference is having to play 30 hours ago in Bolivia? What do you think the reason is, I don't understand. The only problem is the lack of recovery time. Playing early is not a problem if Liverpool go through a normal week".
According to the German coach, Liverpool's main problem lies in the fact that the players have to travel long distances and lack of recovery time after playing with the national teams. Among them, Alexis Mac Allister just joined Argentina as a guest of Bolivia in La Paz - a place more than 3,000 meters above sea level, Luis Diaz played for Colombia in the match against Chile, and goalkeeper Alisson Becker was a substitute when Brazil as a guest of Peru in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
"Liverpool has two matches to play in this time frame, in the next four international breaks," Klopp continued. "If I say a word about it again I will be accused of whining and whining. But, this is a joke. I haven't even met many of the players who have just returned from South America, and must play in 24 hours. They never change, so why should we talk more about it?".
The 56-year-old coach also said that the group of South American players mentioned above are open to playing, Trent Alexander-Arnold is definitely absent due to a hamstring injury, while Thiago Alcantara has not returned. However, Ibrahima Konate, Darwin Nunez are ready to play, and rookie Ryan Gravenberch could make his debut against Wolves.
After that, Klopp continued to get angry when the reporter asked about the possibility of Saudi Arabian clubs returning to attract Mohamed Salah in January 2024. At the end of last summer's wait, Al Ittihad was said to be willing to pay a world record amount to recruit the Egyptian star, but Liverpool refused to negotiate. "Are you kidding me? Can't you wait until December to ask this question?", Klopp said harshly. "I'm not worried about that."
In a previous interview with The Atheltic, former captain and midfielder Jordan Henderson revealed that he agreed to join Al Ettifaq of the Saudi Pro League because he felt Liverpool no longer needed him. Klopp confirmed this information, and added: "If I say 'Henderson, stay, you will be the main man in the midfield', then he will probably stay. But, as much as I wanted Henderson to stay, I couldn't say that. Therefore, it is better for Henderson to leave."
