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Publication date: Wednesday, October 28, 2020 6:48 AM
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admitted he may have to bring in defender Nathaniel Phillips for his Premier League debut amid his team’s center-back crisis.
With Virigil van Dijk likely out of season and Joel Matip injured, Fabinho was the man to intervene admirably.
However, the Brazilian suffered a hamstring injury in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Midtjylland. As such, Rhys Williams, 19, made his second Champions League appearance of the season.
The 19-year-old replaced alongside Joe Gomez and with the Reds back in Premier League action on Saturday, Klopp must find a solution.
The German admitted uncertainty about Matip’s fitness, with a top flight debut on the cards for any of his youngsters.
“We have very young and inexperienced alternatives, and at this moment it seems that we have to choose one of them,” said the coach.
“I don’t know yet, but to be really clear and positive, Rhys wasn’t in a situation tonight, our problem, he played a really good game.”
Williams will likely step in and have gained experience in the Champions League last week. However, Klopp is wary of the media attention that will fall on his shoulders as a teenager.
“He did really well. The only problem we have now is that we have four days left for the West Ham game and you will make a story of him every day and then he has to show that he can deal with that too, because the vibe was calm around him ”, Klopp. He said.
Klopp also confirmed that Fabinho He will undergo a scan Wednesday to determine the extent of his injury.
Besides Matip, Liverpool are waiting for advances in fitness from Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara.
Klopp respects central Jutland
Danish champion Midtjylland put Liverpool to work for their 2-0 win at Anfield.
After a goalless first half of few chances, Diogo Jota opened the scoring before Mohamed Salah scored a late penalty.
Before the game, Klopp faced questions about playing on a so-called smaller team. However, he insisted that after his team’s close victory, he fully respects the opposition.
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