Jürgen Klopp Defends Rotation Against Short-Sighted Critics

The Liverpool manager has learned from his earlier Liverpool seasons even if his critics haven’t.

Last season, Jürgen Klopp didn’t rotate his squad and it came back to haunt him as Liverpool stumbled into the early months of 2017 and the promise of an early title challenge gave way to a fight for the top four. This year, with Champions League commitments added to the mix, it was important to not make that mistake again.

To his credit, Klopp hasn’t. Key but tired players have been rested more frequently, injured players have been given a chance to return to a more conservative schedule, and the manager has rotated heavily in the hopes of setting up a team that will peak in the second half of the season rather than one that peaks at the start of it.

On Sunday, that rotation saw Klopp ...