Jurgen Klopp has described Manchester United’s fixture schedule as ‘a crime’ after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s complaints before the weekend clash against Aston Villa.
Jurgen Klopp said “It was the lineup I expected,. Not exactly the lineup but I knew he had to make these changes. With all the things that happened and the protests at Manchester that led to that situation, to play Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday is a crime. That is not the fault of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the players. My question to myself was: ‘Would I have done the same?’ Yes. You have to. We are late in the season, United went to the Europa League final and that means an awful lot of games and now you get Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday. That’s not possible. But the weekend after is a weekend off for United. I am not the guy doing the schedule but when we thought about how it could work out on the day it got cancelled, there was no Tuesday-Thursday game in it. The explanation from the Premier League was that no other team should suffer because of what happened in Manchester and that didn’t work out pretty well – a little bit for West Ham and a little bit for Liverpool. But if we don’t qualify for the Champions League it is not the fault of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team selection or the Premier League, it is our fault. In this specific case I think it could have been done differently. But we get more and more used to things rarely going in your favour or direction. It is just accepted as how it is.”
Klopp has backed Solskjaer’s decision to make wholesale changes against Leicester despite the Foxes’ victory damaging Liverpool’s prospects of qualifying for the Champions League – but the German coach accused the Premier League of breaking a promise that no club would suffer as a consequence of the protests.
The Norwegian manager responded to the quick turnaround by making no fewer than 10 changes for Tuesday’s match against Leicester City. Only Mason Greenwood, who scored United’s second goal against Villa, retained his spot in the side for the 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford. It means United are likely to field a full-strength team to face Liverpool on Thursday because they do not have a match at the weekend.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said “Three games in five days, very very difficult, almost impossible. Four games in eight, it is impossible. But I think you all know me – I hope you do anyway – we’ll take the challenge head on. I’m not sitting here sulking but I’m saying someone there does not understand the physicality of the Premier League. It’s the best league in the world. I don’t know how you can defend playing these three games in such a short space of time. I’ve got to look after the players.”
