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The three forwards chosen by Jürgen Klopp for Liverpool’s Champions League game against FC Midtjylland hinted at how the Reds manager will rotate his team for the remainder of the competition’s group stage. Klopp’s roster has impressive depth and he is willing to use it to bring out the best in his team throughout the season.
Diogo Jota, Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi started as Liverpool’s three forwards in the match against the Danish champions, with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah only in cameos in the second half. The first-choice trio stayed fresh for Saturday’s Premier League game against West Ham United.
With the delayed start to the season due to the Covid-19 pandemic squeezing the match roster, demanding more players who are asked to play two games most weeks, Klopp has apparently identified the group stage of the Champions League as an arena where he can rest some of his best players.
Liverpool have been selected in a test group, with Ajax and Atalanta capable of causing trouble for the Premier League champions. The Reds posted an impressive 1-0 away win in Amsterdam to kick off their European campaign and followed up with a comfortable win over Midtjylland at Anfield.
Next, Klopp’s team faces Atalanta in Italy. The Bergamo team is capable of scoring against anyone, illustrated by their impressive record in the last two seasons: no one scored more goals in Serie A last season than Atalanta. Tuesday’s game will be a real test of Klopp’s rotation policy.
A victory in Italy would prepare Liverpool very well to enter the round of 16. With two of his last three group stage matches at Anfield, Klopp might find that with three wins out of three he can continue his policy of resting and rotating some of his best players to keep them fresh for as long as possible.
Next week’s trip to Bergamo comes just days before Liverpool take on Manchester City in what could set the tone for this season’s Premier League title race. If ever there was a Champions League game to rotate through, this would seem to be it. The cushion of six points out of six possible in the competition could give Klopp the freedom to make changes.
Of course, the further Liverpool progresses in the competition, the less scope they have to rotate their squad, particularly the three forwards. Jota, Minamino, and Origi are able to step aside when necessary, but Firmino, Mane, and Salah operate at a higher level.
As a trio, they are arguably the best attacking unit in Europe right now. It is for this reason that Klopp apparently wants to preserve them.
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