Joel Matip acknowledges that Liverpool’s European commitments have added an additional Premier League challenge, and that Jurgen Klopp’s team still needs to get better. The Reds have played through a challenging first eight games, during which they have already faced four of last season’s top eight, and now find themselves inside the top four, just three points behind early leaders Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
Due to their fifth-place finish in the previous season, Liverpool is forced to play a string of Europa League games on a Thursday, followed by a Premier League match less than 72 hours later. The Reds’ first two league games this season against teams in the same position as them, West Ham United and Brighton, were followed by league games, but that won’t be the case for the remaining four at home against Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Fulham, and Manchester United. And Matip acknowledges that, as Klopp’s team works to ensure a prompt return to the Champions League, the close proximity of such matches is not ideal. “Playing on Thursday night and Sunday afternoon is not the best combination, but many teams do it and we should too,” the center-back said.
We are accustomed to playing on Wednesdays, so this is nothing new for us, but naturally, it means that whenever we play in the Europa League, there are always just two days in between. “There isn’t much time to prepare for the weekend game because recovery always takes longer. However, we are all willing to give it our all because we all want to play European football. “.
In addition to losing five senior midfielders this summer, Liverpool spent more than £150 million to bring in Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, and Ryan Gravenberch as part of a revamp of the backbone of the team.
