Star forward Mohamed Salah and centre-back Virgil van Dijk were both taken off as precautions during Saturday’s final at Wembley.
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Liverpool won their second title of the season on Saturday when they got their hands on the FA Cup trophy. The Reds edged past Chelsea in a thrilling penalty shootout. It was the second time Liverpool defeated the Blues, in the same manner, this season to win a trophy. Earlier this year, they won the Carabao Cup against the same opponent in another shootout. Despite the trophy keeping their quadruple dreams alive, the win came at a cost. Since the Reds had to play an additional 30 minutes to the already existing 90 minutes, there were fears of some players suffering injuries. A couple of key Liverpool players were also withdrawn from the clash, creating anxiety among the fans.
Star forward Mohamed Salah and centre-back Virgil van Dijk were both taken off as precautions during Saturday’s final at Wembley. Besides, left-back Andy Robertson was also withdrawn during the closing stages of the match due to cramp. Ahead of their match against Southampton in the Premier League, manager Jurgen Klopp informed that he will have a good look at his players’ physical condition on Monday before taking a call for Tuesday night’s clash. In his pre-match press conference, Klopp was asked to provide an update on the players’ availability to face the Saints on Tuesday.
“This process has not finished yet because we only played the 120 minutes two days ago,” Klopp replied. “So when the boys arrive today I have to make a lot of decisions. Then we will line up a team. What I can promise and definitely say is we will line up a team only for one reason: to try to win the game at Southampton. As difficult as it is. Because that obviously is the job to do. We have to see who is able to help. The 30 extra minutes [at Wembley] made a big difference, but we have to see.”
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One thing is clear though ever-reliable Fabinho will not be part of their visit to Southampton. He sustained a muscle injury at Aston Villa last week. Asked about Fabinho’s ongoing recovery, Klopp said, “Very well, but he will not be involved tomorrow. But very good.” Tuesday’s game is Liverpool’s penultimate match of the season in the Premier League. They are currently four points behind leaders Manchester City having played one less game. The Reds need to get all three points against the Saints to keep their title push intact. A Liverpool defeat, however, on Tuesday will be enough for City to be crowned the league champions. Anything but a defeat will see the title race going to the final day of the season.
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Klopp was then asked how long was he able to enjoy the FA Cup win on Saturday night before thinking about Southampton. “When the plane landed… until the plane landed, to be honest. I was in a good mood, but then I got tired a little bit, but it’s all fine. Again, I come back to that. Why don’t we have the FA Cup as the last game of the season? Sometimes it’s the last game, sometimes it’s not the last game; Germany the same. So that would, obviously, help with celebrations as well, because it’s obviously completely different when you play a few days later again, but it’s all fine. It felt outstanding enough, to be honest,” he added. “Since we landed back in Liverpool, we were tired and then the Southampton mood. That’s strange, 10.30 next day we had Southampton analysis meeting – nobody came late! So, that’s it.”
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