Klopp Reveals Konate Suffered Injury When Liverpool Beat Sparta 5-1

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp revealed the reasons for attracting center back Ibrahima Konate in the Europa League last 16 match against Sparta Prague on Friday (8/3/2024) early morning WIB. The first leg duel at Sparta's home ground ended in victory for Liverpool with a final score of 5-1.

Klopp replaced Konate with Virgil van Dijk when the match entered the 51st minute or the start of the second half. Moments earlier, the French player was seen having difficulty on the field and asked for help from the medical team.

Temporary suspicions suggest that Konate suffered a hamstring injury, but Klopp was reluctant to confirm this. He reasoned that the club's medical staff still had to carry out further examinations in the coming days.

“No, we don't know (exactly what the injury is). “However, when we passed Konate said to me 'if I force another run then the condition will be very bad',” said Klopp in the press conference after the match.

In this match, Konate was not the only defender who was withdrawn by Klopp in this match. In the break between halves, Joe Gomez, who filled the right back position, was replaced by Connor Bradley.

Even so, Klopp guaranteed that the changes made were not related to injuries during the match. This decision was taken for the reason of maintaining the players' fitness to face the busy schedule next week.

“Joe (Gomez) is completely fine. We took him out because he has played in too many games recently. “So player replacements are made due to the rotation policy and maintaining (players') fitness,” said Klopp.

With a landslide 5-1 advantage over Sparta, Liverpool has a great chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The second leg of the round of 16 between Liverpool and Sparta Prague will be held at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool's home ground, on Thursday (15/3/2024) or Friday morning WIB.