On Sunday, Liverpool put on an amazing display in their tricky showdown with Leicester, beating the Foxes 3-0 despite of their injury crisis. However, this did not stop manager Jurgen Klopp from going on an extraordinary rant after the final whistle, going to town with British broadcasters Sky Sports and BT Sport over the fixtures schedule.
The Reds were without several players for yesterday's Anfield showdown. The likes of Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Alexander-Arnold, Thiago, Chamberlain, and Salah were all out and though the reason for the Egyptian superstar's absence was COVID-19, all the other players were out with injuries. Klopp has been vocal against the care given to the players' welfare, or lack thereof, and took his criticism up a notch when speaking to the media yesterday.
The German boss took exception to their upcoming fixtures, with the Premier League title holders playing in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday before being forced to return to action midday on Saturday. On top of the injury crisis, Liverpool also saw Naby Keita pick up a knock in the Leicester victory, a chain of events that saw the gaffer reach his boiling point.
"It was never about us when I talked about it, it was about all the players. If you don't start talking to BT [Sport] we are all done," Klopp said to Sky Sports, as per Goal.
"Sky and BT have to talk because if we keep playing on Wednesday and Saturday [at] 12:30, I'm not sure if we will finish the season with 11 players.
"I know you [the broadcasters] don't care and that's the problem. We've discussed it for a long time and nothing's happened.
"I don't talk about Liverpool, I talk about all the football players out there. Yesterday, [Gerard] Pique massive knee injury. Today, [Bukayo] Saka, maybe, I'm not sure, a knee injury - he played all three games for England during the international break.
"Now people tell us to rotate players but who? We have some offensive players but the rest are kids.
"It's a massive problem. Wednesday and Saturday 12:30 is a broadcaster problem and nothing else. We play against Atalanta on Wednesday and then 12:30 [Saturday] against Brighton. It's an early Christmas present. We will show up there shaking. I think about sending the points. That's how it is."
The Sky interviewer reminded Klopp that Liverpool had signed a contract with the broadcasters and have green lighted the fixtures schedule. However, this comment did not go down well with the former Dortmund boss.
"Gentlemen, start talking and making decisions. I like the relationship with you. If someone tells me again about contracts I'll go really nuts. Because these contracts aren't made for a Covid season," Klopp continued.
"We all have to adapt. Everything's changed, but the contracts with the broadcasters is still: 'We have this, so we keep this'. What? Everything changed, the whole world changed!"
