Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp stated that he substituted Thiago Alcantara in the 4-0 win against Manchester United as he thought the Spaniard was injured. However, the German has revealed that the midfielder was fine and had actually torn his shorts during the game, which lead to the substitution.
Thiago ran the show against Manchester United, but was seen clutching his hamstring in the 80th minute, which lead Klopp to bring on Naby Keita instead of the Spaniard. When asked whether the substitution was due to an injury or more cautionary, Klopp said:
"I thought he had done something else. He told me he was fine!"
Liverpool will need Thiago in the final run-in of the season as they try and catch Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table. The Reds are currently 2nd in the league, one point behind Pep Guardiola's side with six games left to play.
Jurgen Klopp's side will host Everton in a Merseyside Derby at the weekend before travelling to Spain to take on Villarreal in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
"We were too good" - Klopp on Liverpool's 4-0 win over Manchester United
Following his side's comprehensive win against Manchester United, Klopp reiterated that his only aim was to win the remaining games and not to humiliate opponents. He said:
"I'm not here to humiliate opponents or whatever. That is absolutely not the reason. We did what we had to do and we won the games, that's how it is. United are obviously in a difficult situation; look at the line-up tonight, they played without their centre-midfielders."
"The 9-0 I'm not interested. That's really something for the supporters; if they want to celebrate 9-0 then they can do that, but it's not for me. We wanted three points and if it would have been 1-0 twice I would feel exactly the same - and I know it will not last forever. They will strike back, they will be there again, this club is too powerful, but in the moment - for tonight - we were too good, that's the truth."