Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes his “intelligent” players will understand and embrace the increasingly fierce competition for senior positions.Five strikers have scored 30 goals so far this season, but only Mohamed Salah is guaranteed to score 10 every week.
Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz, who missed the last two games because his father was kidnapped in Colombia, all impressed when selected and look set to fit in well despite Klopp’s rotation. “The boys are all smart. “The good thing is that we only have smart players. That means they understand they won’t be able to play every game,” he said. It’s not “I want to play Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday.” It’s impossible, but everyone sees it that way.
Smart footballers have to think like that and that’s what our boys do. “If I can’t play, it’s good to have a really good player who can play in that position.’ That’s exactly how I see it. “Suddenly, there are only four games left (because of Diaz’s absence), but if you look at the schedule, there are still a lot of games. It will be chaos after the international break, so we have to prepare for that.”“It takes guys who have been through different periods to be successful, not just periods of success.
“We’ve got to get through it and with a lot of injuries (then) it’s a real joy, but otherwise the boys have to cope. “It’s good now, but honestly, for the rest of the season. Of the previous five, Cody Gakpo is probably the unsung hero.The Netherlands international has scored in his last four games and scored the first goal in three of them, but has been the most sacrificed player to fill the void in the squad as he began the season in midfield.
Klopp added: “If we can get them all ready, we weren’t going to put Coady in there, but it was something new for him after the False Nine last year.”
“But he can adapt because he is a very intelligent player and we want him to adapt. He is just a versatile striker who can play anywhere. This is very important to us. He gets into the box, shoots well and has good situational judgement. “How can I say, I think the guys in the front row are like, ‘Let’s get started?’ There’s no fighting, they know they can all play together.”
