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Publication date: Tuesday, October 20, 2020 7:42 AM
Jurgen Klopp maintains that Liverpool have the roster strength to deal with the absence of Virgil van Dijk, despite calls for a replacement in January.
Former Reds defender Jamie Carragher named Manchester United point to Dayot Upamecano as a perfect replacement for the injured Dutchman, who appears to be missing the rest of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
But speaking at his press conference ahead of Wednesday night’s Champions League clash with Ajax, a clearly irritable Klopp admitted he was happy with his squad.
“Is anyone interested in tomorrow’s game? We entered the season with 3 CB and Fabinho. Hard to have 4 world class CBs.
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“It is not a position where you turn too much. If someone tells us we are making a mistake now … I think Carragher has. “
Klopp also confirmed that Joel Matip has been added to the disabled list and will miss the match in the Netherlands.
The defender suffered a muscle injury in the Merseyside derby draw.
Klopp added: “Yeah, it sure isn’t perfect. Joel Matip is not here, but that is our situation and we will solve it.
“We are still a bit sensitive to the situation and therefore we are in a different mood than yours. We have known since yesterday that the best CB in the world is not with us.
“It was clear from his track record that he would not start again after 90 minutes against Everton. But there is a good chance that he will participate on the weekend. “
Center back pairing with new look
The absence of Van Dijk and Matip means the Reds are likely to line up with Joe Gomez and midfielder Fabinho in central defense.
Klopp also revealed that midfielder Thiago will be absent against Ajax. But he added that his team will still be willing to win in Amsterdam.
“We will still try tomorrow. In the future we will miss him much more, but so far we only played once with Thiago and won some games without him. About Virg, I’ve said it all.
Thiago, I’m not sure how long that will take. But I like the team we can line up ”.
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