Jurgen Klopp has admitted to the Liverpool Echo that he took off Joe Gomez in fear that he might get sent off.
Gomez was booked early on during Liverpool’s game against Manchester City, after he gave away a penalty for a clumsy tackle on Raheem Sterling in the box.
Gomez ended up being taken off at half-time, and Klopp says that he simply couldn’t risk the England international picking up a red, as his options at centre-back are short, with Dejan Lovren out injured.
“No [injury], it was a yellow card,” Klopp said.
“I just thought that after he got a yellow and at the moment, we don’t know exactly when Dejan will be back.
“Of course, I hope, but I don’t have a big number of centre-halves, so I didn’t want to see him now get a second yellow and that is why we made the change.”
At the time Gomez went off the game was effectively over for Liverpool, as City had done so much damage in the first-half.
Pep Guardiola’s side raced into a 3-0 lead, with Liverpool’s defence unable to contain their attacking quality.
Gomez had struggled at times during the contest, with the speed of movement and the quality of City’s passing causing all sorts of problems.
Liverpool will not be unduly concerned by the defeat though, as there are still 20 points between them and Guardiola’s men, with the Premier League title already secured.
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