Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has explained his caution in omitting Roberto Firmino from his squad in the Friday night match at Stamford Bridge. Firmino picked up a slight knock ahead of the match and the Reds boss decided not to risk the Brazilian.
As it turned out, Liverpool didn’t miss him, putting the hosts to the sword with an impressive 2-1 win. Klopp explained that he did not want to exacerbate Firmino’s problem, "This afternoon there were really difficult decisions to make with Roberto – a very good player and it was only a little issue, but I had to make the decision in the end to say it was not possible [for him to play].
"Everybody said we could take the risk, but I heard the word ‘risk’ too often and so said, ‘no, we can’t take it – Roberto is out’. To leave him out and then the other players play this kind of football is nice."
Firmino was replaced in the starting line-up by compatriot Philippe Coutinho, who assisted the opening goal for Dejan Lovren, with Jordan Henderson adding a second, before Diego Costa reduced the deficit in the second half.
Firmino has been recalled into the Brazil squad for October qualifiers against Bolivia and Venezuela and the injury is not expected to affect his participation in those matches.