Paul Merson has suggested that Jordan Henderson was probably ‘shocked’ at Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hauling him off after an hour against Manchester United.
The Reds remain winless from three Premier League outings this season after losing 2-1 away to Old Trafford earlier this week.
Henderson, the Liverpool captain, started the visit to the Red Devils as expected, but Klopp substituted him for Fabinho after 59 minutes.
And with the former Sunderland midfielder being the captain, Merson feels that the 32-year-old is probably stunned by only lasting two-thirds of a fixture like this.
He told The Daily Star: “Klopp is also bringing off his captain Jordan Henderson after an hour. If you’re the skipper, you’d be shocked at that.”
It was a difficult night for Henderson who, like every Liverpool player, was simply not at the races.
However, he is far and away the most influential figure in Klopp’s squad in terms of leadership and maybe, just maybe, the Reds could’ve done with that for the entire 90 minutes.
After all, Henderson was spotted ‘fuming‘ with three of his teammates and although that could be considered unhelpful, it’s something that Liverpool need on the pitch when things are going wrong – and they definitely were.
It’s also quite surprising to see Henderson come off because, well, Klopp is experiencing a crisis of midfield options, with several out injured.
Nevertheless, Henderson will lead his teammates out against Bournemouth at Anfield tomorrow as they look to pick up a first Premier League victory of the campaign.
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