Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp, has said he decided to substitute Mo Salah an hour into their 1-0 defeat against Chelsea, because he wanted “fresh legs”.
Mason Mount’s first-half strike gave the Blues all three points.
Chelsea were much the better side in the first half and though Liverpool enjoyed more possession after the break they struggled to create chances.
Their bluntness was summed up by Klopp’s decision to withdraw top scorer Salah with almost half-an-hour to play and afterwards the German explained his decision.
“I just brought on fresh legs,” Klopp told Sky Sports.
“Mo [Salah] looked like today he suffered a bit, he played a lot of games.
“I could have taken off Sadio [Mane] or Bobby [Firmino], that is all clear but at that moment it looked like Mo.
“[James] Milner we bought on to wake them up a bit and keep them in the game because we needed one situation.”
