Liverpool picked up a 3-1 win over Cardiff in the 4th Round of the FA Cup and in that match, Jurgen Klopp decided to use several of his benchwarmers.
Some of the first-team regulars also played in that game but according to pundit Ian Wright, the Liverpool boss is actually not prioritising the FA Cup at this moment.
He said on ITV, as quoted: “I’m not sure Jurgen Klopp will not be trying to win the cups I think the teams he’s had to put out because we’re talking about someone who’s come in to try and win the Premier League and the Champions League.
“He’s done both but at the same time, this is something he has to add to his cloth. He’s always had a good team to do it but you have to give credit to the teams that have beaten them, but at the same time who he’s put out probably is the strongest without the missing players.
“We know that the way that Liverpool have done business, to even stay in touch with Man City and Chelsea and what they’re having to compete with, the signings they’ve made the players that have come through the academy, the players they’ve bought for the academy to then get into the first team.
🔴 #LIVCAR 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒 🔴
Here’s how we line-up for the #EmiratesFACup fourth round 👊
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 6, 2022
“There’s no fat on Liverpool, everything is really lean. They’re trying to keep up with those teams so sometimes you can see why in the FA Cup they haven’t done well in it because they have bigger fish to fry.”
Are Liverpool not focusing on the cup competitions?
Liverpool will be playing in the EFL Cup final this month vs Chelsea so it’s not entirely true that they are not valuing the cup competitions. But yes, Jurgen Klopp is certainly not losing his sleep over the results in such tournaments.
The Anfield outfit have a big gap to cover in terms of chasing Manchester City for the Premier League title and the Champions League is also restarting later this month. They have a fairly tough game against Inter Milan in the Round of 16.
In such a scenario, Klopp is making his cup selections really carefully since if one major player picks up an injury then it will be a total disaster for them. Apart from Luis Diaz, the club have not made any other first-team signing so the manager will have to be really tactful in keeping his players injury-free.
Against Cardiff, the manager was missing both Salah and Mane so it was understandable that he trod with caution but even in the next couple of rounds, we don’t think he will be selecting his normal starting XI. Klopp will obviously use his best line up against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final since that’s a genuine chance at winning a silverware.
Apart from that one game, all of his focus will be on chasing down Man City and progressing to the finals of the Champions League.
