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Jürgen Klopp is hopeful that Joël Matip is fit to face Tottenham in the top-two showdown on Wednesday night after the defender was forced out of Liverpool’s draw with Fulham as the champions they missed the chance to reach the top of the Premier League.
Jordan Henderson was forced into action in central defense after Matip failed to come out for the second half at Craven Cottage, with Klopp later confirming that the 29-year-old had suffered a back spasm. It was the last blow for the Reds, who revealed before kick-off that Diogo Jota would be out for at least six weeks due to a knee injury suffered by the striker in the Champions League last Wednesday.
On the pitch, Liverpool needed a Mohamed Salah penalty to salvage a point after he fell behind with a Bobby Decordova-Reid goal in the first half, with José Mourinho’s Tottenham still ahead in the table by difference. of goals after drawing 1-1 at Palacio de Cristal.
Liverpool haven’t lost a league game at Anfield since April 2017 but, when asked if there was a worse time to face Spurs’ deadly duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min given their lack of defensive coverage, Klopp said: “Probably not. But we are not struggling with the numbers in central defense, it’s just that they are getting younger now. Today we tried Hendo, so it’s situations like this. You have to find the solution, but that’s how football is ”. On Matip’s chances of facing the Spurs, he added: “We’ll see. He will get treatment, so I think he has a chance. “
Liverpool could easily have fallen further behind after a poor start and Klopp said the congested schedule is catching up with its players. “We are dealing with human beings and things like that happen. Yesterday all the teams that played in the Champions League had a bad time. It’s crazy. Maybe this was the weekend we felt it a bit. In the first 30 minutes we just weren’t good. We could have lost the game in that period. “
Henderson, the captain, added: “We didn’t get going until after the first 30 minutes. You can’t do that in the Premier League or you get punished, like we did. The good thing is that we react well. We dominated and we should have scored one or two more. I am disappointed with the start, satisfied with the reaction ”.
Scott Parker acknowledged that his Fulham team was disappointed despite holding the champions in a draw. “In the last three games, against Leicester, Manchester City and Liverpool, I don’t think anyone would have given us a chance,” he said. “But we have four points that people would not have believed. We left the blocks flying today. We show our quality. We can play.”
