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“For me, the team looked mentally fatigued tonight,” said Jurgen Klopp, increasingly exasperated, after last week’s home loss to Brighton. “We weren’t fresh enough which means we weren’t good enough to break Brighton’s formation and in the end they scored a goal and had other chances. They deserved to win. “
This is becoming a familiar topic. After each loss, of which there have been a growing number, there are suggestions that Liverpool’s key players are exhausted, that they have played too much too often and need a long break.
Klopp, it seems, agrees with that assessment. For the last month, he’s been trying to rotate his team, bringing in players like Xherdan Shaqiri, Divock Origi, and Curtis Jones.
In truth, Liverpool lack the depth to do this and maintain a title challenge, especially when they miss Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip. However, forcing regulars to keep playing even when they are physically and mentally tired could prove detrimental in the long run.
And that’s what the Reds now need to consider. Klopp risks contradicting himself if he laments the mental fatigue of his players, but continues to play most of them regardless. It was a familiar starting eleven again when Manchester City arrived at Anfield on Sunday, but the performances of players with such high standards were well below average.
Now, then, it seems like the perfect opportunity to give those who have played almost incessantly in recent years – Mo Salah, Andy Robertson, Gini Wijnaldum, among others – a mini break, a two or three week mid-season vacation, perhaps enough time to reflect and refresh.
The Premier League title is no longer a concern. Manchester City are out of sight, and Liverpool should focus on securing a place in the top four. This is disappointing after the accomplishments of last season, but there could be some positives to draw from it.
Fundamentally, Liverpool will not be embroiled in a relentless title race, so Klopp will have the luxury of rotating more regularly. Even a week or ten days off could benefit players, especially if they know in advance that they will have time to rest.
Que Salah, Sadio Mané and company. Having played so many times, without complaints, is a testament to the enthusiasm of this Liverpool. Even now, there is infectious enthusiasm for them, and recent poor results have certainly not been an attitude problem.
But Klopp may have to risk the frustration of some of his more established players. Salah and Mané, for example, played in the FA Cup win over U-13 Aston Villa last month, and that really felt unnecessary.
This will not be easy for the Liverpool manager. You will have to strike a balance between resting the key players and making sure your team remains competitive, because you cannot afford to plummet on the table. But the players must rest. It’s about next season and the next, rather than the immediate future.
“When you look at the percentage of minutes played in the Premier League since August 2018, this is a team that has been going down the drain for three years and has produced incredible moments, trophies for this club.” Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports after the defeat of City. “And that’s why it’s a bit difficult for me to be overly critical of what I’m seeing right now.
“This is not a question of attitude. This is not a team that thinks: ‘We won the league, we did it.’ They just haven’t stopped in three years. That’s why I say they need a little help. “
That help could come from the club’s fringe players, who have often been fired for not being good enough. But they will have to intensify in the coming months. If Liverpool do well in the Champions League, which seems like a long shot given their recent form, the Premier League could take a back seat. And if the Reds are eliminated by RB Leizpig, the game schedule will soon start to look more lenient.
All of this is likely to disappoint fans, whose expectations are at an all-time high after two seasons of relentless consistency. But this is an opportunity for Liverpool, after years of intense and exhausting work, to relax, take a step back and recover.
In the next few years, the benefits of doing this could be enormous. Liverpool, revitalized after a short sabbatical, would return stronger than before, ready to compete at the top for the next decade.
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