One of the more underestimated aspects of putting a quadruple bid together is the sheer amount of planning and decision making which goes into selecting a starting XI and substitutes bench for so many matches. Forty-one different players have appeared in a match day squad for Liverpool in 2021/22 and that single number barely scratches the surface of the complexity involved in getting the strongest possible side onto the pitch time and again.
Jurgen Klopp has been deprived of 26 different members of his squad for one reason or another at times this season, with the men involved collectively absent for 216 matches. While the games missed total won’t match the unbelievable tally of 340 in 2020/21, the Reds were ‘only’ without 23 players throughout that campaign. The injuries may have been more severe, but the disruption has arguably been worse this time around.
One positive from the mayhem this season is that Klopp’s most in-form forwards have remained almost constantly available. Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah each missed six Liverpool matches while at the Africa Cup of Nations but have thankfully avoided injury, while January signing Luis Diaz has been in every match day squad since completing his move from Porto. Their durability hasn’t just been remarkable by the standards of their club either.
