Jurgen Klopp admitted he was pleased with the impact from his Liverpool subs after taking off Mohamed Salah in their win over Sheffield United - because the starting side just weren't cutting the mustard.
Darwin Nunez gave the Reds the lead in the first half and they were in control of the match, up until Conor Bradley put through his own net to make it 1-1. Then Klopp decided to make a double change with Salah and Ryan Gravenberch coming off for Harvey Elliott and Andy Robertson.
Salah cut a frustrated figure after being hooked. He walked off looking miserable, not even looking at Klopp as he took his seat on the bench. As Liverpool were searching for the winner, Klopp made two more alterations. Dominik Szoboszlai and Joe Gomez were replaced by Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo.
That seemed to wake them up as Liverpool went back in front with 13 minutes to go, with Alexis Mac Allister powering home a blockbuster strike from outside the box. The Reds, who were below par from the majority of the evening, wrapped up the points through substitute Gakpo late on.
Speaking after the game, Klopp admitted his changes made the difference. "Our general game until I think we made the changes was not great, he told TNT Sports. That's what we have to admit.
Jurgen Klopp's approach with Robert Lewandowski bodes well for Darwin Nunez
"It's tricky, we had such a low block [from Sheffield United] but you have to do better. I'm really pleased for Cody [Gakpo] who came on and was incredibly good on the ball, scored a wonderful goal. Robbo [Andy Robertson] good, Harvey [Elliott] good, Curtis [Jones] good.
"They were really helpful and that's how it is; you have to change games from the bench when needed and so I'm really happy with that."
(Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)The win for Liverpool moves them back to the top of the Premier League table, one point above second-place Arsenal and two ahead of Manchester City in third. And captain Virgil van Dijk believes the victory is gigantic in the three-way race for the title this season.
"You don't want to have any dropped points, you don’t want to have any sort of slip ups," Van Dijk told TNT Sports. "What we can influence is only our performances and try to win and that’s the main focus. We can watch other teams at this stage but there's no point."
Liverpool are next in action when they travel to Manchester United in another important game on Sunday - three weeks since losing to their arch rivals 4-3 in the FA Cup quarter-final.
Goalscorer Mac Allister told TNT Sports: "I don’t know if it’s revenge, but for sure it will be an important game for us because if we want to win something we have to win every game and that’s the aim."
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