Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Daniel Sturridge not starting against Villarreal tonight was simply a tactical decision as he wanted “stability” in his side.
The 26-year-old has been in fantastic form of late for the Reds, but was surprisingly left on the bench for the Europa League semi-final first leg at the El Madrigal tonight.
Klopp instead went with Roberto Firmino playing in the false nine role, a system which has been inconsistent for the Reds this season to say the least.
The Brazil international has struggled to make the impact he would have liked in Spain so far and speaking before the game, Klopp revealed why he decided to go with the 24-year-old over the lethal Sturridge.
Yeah, very difficult decision,” Klopp told BT Sport prior to Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat tonight.
“I thought about a lot of things, but in the end I decided for a little bit more stability.
“In the 4-3-3 we didn’t play with Daniel until now, and so we thought for today this 4-3-3, 4-5-1, sometimes a diamond this very flexibile style, we played in a few games before.
“It makes sense that the players played it together before, that’s why we decided for this line-up.”
It was the third consecutive European game that Sturridge has not started, but Liverpool have seen the impact he can have off the bench after playing a big role against Borussia Dortmund in the last round.
Sturridge has struggled with injuries this season and upon his return a few months ago, he found Divock Origi in fine form, with the 21-year-old often preferred ahead of him for European games under Klopp.
The 26-year-old’s future has come under the spotlight at times this season, but he appears to have become a happier figure in recent weeks.
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