Liverpool were easily dispatched in the League Cup on Tuesday.
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The Reds, of course, were forced to field an XI full of their academy players due to their Club World Cup commitments. As such, it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see them be on the end of a 5-0 defeat from Aston Villa, but there were still some positives to take from the game – they had more shots and also amassed 58% possession.
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Jurgen Klopp, of course, is clearly prioritising the inter-continental tournament in Qatar given that the entire first-team squad has travelled to the Middle East. That, though, as well as the the team that was put out against Dean Smith’s men, has angered talkSPORT pundit Andy Goldstein. He has said that the former Borussia Dortmund manager has shown “disrespect” to the English competition.
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That seems to be a hard judgement, but what do our writers think? We asked four of them to give us their verdicts.
Matt Dawson
“I think a lot has been made about nothing in this situation. Both competitions are utterly pointless and if anyone should take the blame for Liverpool’s young XI on Tuesday evening, it should be the organisers of the Carabao Cup. To put a team in a position where they have to field a side like that seems baffling, but the FIFA Club World Cup, as poor as the standard is, is arguably a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“To have the opportunity of adding that kind of silverware to your cabinet is far more appealing than a tournament sponsored by an energy drink. Given the circumstances, Klopp has made the right decision. However, at the same time, I can’t help but feel as though the Reds could have taken a few more younger players to Qatar and left some fringe members at home – for example, Adam Lallana or Xherdan Shaqiri. Liverpool didn’t disrespect the competition, they merely did what had to be done.”
Domagoj Kostanjsak
“I feel like this move by Klopp shouldn’t be seen as disrespectful. It’s not his fault that the schedule is so congested and if he is truly to compete on all fronts, priorities have to be set. Of course, it’s not every day that you can play in the Club World Cup and you could argue that makes it a bit more prestigious of a crown to potentially grab, despite being quite miserable in terms of the competition quality as a whole. But the same could be said for the Cup, just without the prestige that Club World Cup arguably carries. For me, Klopp has made the right call.”
Viji Jeevathayalan
“Make no mistake about it, Jurgen Klopp has made the best of a ridiculous situation. Liverpool have effectively been punished for simply being good at what they do. The footballing power-brokers needed to have shown some much-needed foresight in respect to planning, and the fact the Reds took the stance of fielding a youth team in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night is entirely understandable. Irrespective of what people think about the status and quality of the League Cup or the Club World Cup, the Reds deserved to have a fair crack at the whip at both competitions.
“Instead, they were left in a position where they had to make a tough decision on what to prioritise. And after having sealed his first trophy as Liverpool manager with the Champions League last season, it was little surprise to see Klopp look to go all out for the Club World Cup. Rather than criticising him for a situation that wasn’t of his own making, we should all be thanking the Reds boss for having the courage to stand up and take on the decision-makers. Klopp was in the right, and we should applaud him.”
Kealan Hughes
“At this moment in time there is no better man to trust than Jurgen Klopp if you’re a Liverpool fan. The Reds have done superbly well to compete on all fronts this term and if they make history by lifting the Club World Cup then that will be a great achievement. It will also be a more memorable victory considering Liverpool have never won this competition before, whereas they have lifted the League Cup a record eight times, and they will have the opportunity to compete in it once again next season.
“The club’s sole priority should be the Premier League considering the brilliant chance they have to win the league after years without, and even though the Club World Cup is a distraction in that regard, they may as well do their all to win it since it only takes two victories to win it.”
In other news, this Liverpool man impressed for the Reds against Aston Villa.
