Liverpool defeated Chelsea 4-1 in the Premier League and now face Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp allayed anxieties about Alexis MacAllister’s knee injury sustained during Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Chelsea.
However, the Reds’ manager confessed that his players appeared exhausted following the game as they prepare for a crucial encounter with Premier League championship rivals Arsenal.
Liverpool maintained their five-point advantage at the top of the league after defeating Chelsea at Anfield. Diogo Jota, Conor Bradley, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Luis Diaz all scored, while Darwin Nunez missed a penalty and hit the woodwork four times.
There is rising optimism that Klopp’s final season as manager will result in a second Premier League title. Liverpool has the opportunity to make a big statement when they meet third-place Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Mac Allister required treatment for several minutes against Chelsea after colliding with Cesare Casade in the final moments, but he was able to remain on the field. Klopp is hoping that the midfielder, who had a lengthy absence in December due to a freak cut to his knee, will be able to face Arsenal.
Liverpool played seven games in January, despite an 11-day gap. During that time, prominent players such as Szoboszlai, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Andy Robertson were injured, but youngsters like Bradley – who scored his first Reds goals and assisted twice – and Jarell Quansah came up.
Klopp will now analyze his squad to determine who will be ready to face Arsenal. He stated, “We finally realised we had seven games in January with 11 days off in between; I’m not sure how we fit them in, but obviously we had to start January 1.” And we couldn’t have achieved the same level of success without the lads and the youngsters. Without Quansah, there is no possibility. We’re missing both left backs, Trent, midfielders, and so on. [Against Norwich on Sunday], we used James McConnell as number six, and he performed admirably. So, these lads made the most of the circumstance, which is precisely as it should be in an ideal world.
“Now the next game is in four days, and I’m not sure who can play again because they looked exhausted when I glanced in the dressing room! Back here, Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] is on the knee – knee on knee – something like that. Nothing important, at least no one has told me that yet. So everything’s fine. We need them all, and that is not a cliché; it is exactly how it is. And I’m glad they were all able to perform as they did. The next big game is already coming up, at Arsenal, so let’s recover and go again.”
