Jamie Carragher has made a surprising plea to Jurgen Klopp, urging him to rest one of Liverpool's star forwards if Manchester City were to drop points in the coming weeks.
Manchester City turn their focus back to the never-achieved domestic treble after a dramatic exit from the Champions League which saw a last-minute winner from Raheem Sterling overruled by VAR.
At the same time as drama was erupting in Manchester, Liverpool thrashed Porto 6-1 on aggregate to breeze through to a semi-final clash with Barcelona.
Klopp's men reached last year's final before falling 3-1 to Real Madrid, although they didn't have a title challenge to compete with on that occasionally. That isn't the case this season – and former Liverpool defender Carragher backed him to rest key players in crunch games to show where his priorities lay.
“Liverpool’s success has brought dilemmas for Klopp that he would have welcomed when this season began, but which now present him with unenviable decisions,” Carragher wrote for The Telegraph.
He added: "I would not criticise Klopp if he left out one his front three in the first leg to ensure they are ready [for Newcastle]."
Klopp's side must play Barcelona and travel to
“Can he really expect all his front three to perform at their maximum in the Nou Camp and then again three days later at St James’ Park? If not, which game will he choose to rest one of them? The next seven days will make it clearer what direction he should take.
Source : 90min