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Liverpool Echo

Sport

Tom Cavilla

Liverpool can revive Premier League hopes through rule change dominating World Cup games

Liverpool EPL Roberto Firmino World Cup Jurgen Klopp Darwin Nunez Mohamed Salah Divock Origi Fabio Carvalho Jude Bellingham

Jurgen Klopp finally got his wish at the start of this season after years of calling for change.

Frustrated by the growing demands being placed on his players, the Liverpool boss has been vocal in his wish for the Premier League to increase the number of substitutions managers are permitted to make during matches.

A first glimpse at five changes being the norm was witnessed during the 2019/20 season at the time of Project Restart as clubs were given additional help in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But Premier League clubs voted against keeping the arrangement in place ahead of the 2020/21 despite a number of top European leagues utilising it. It has, however, been utilised in the Carabao and FA Cup for the last two years.

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Plans to expand tournaments such as the Champions League and the World Cup is only adding to this issue of player welfare and risk of repeated injuries, with additional fixtures being added to the schedule leaving little room for recovery time.

Making clear why he was in favour of this becoming a permanent feature of Premier League matches, Klopp said last December: "We have to put the competition on our side and don’t say City has better subs than Southampton or that we have better subs than Burnley. Yes, that’s probably true, but they’re still Premier League teams and can cause us problems.

"The problem is that this intensity for a top-class footballer in England is definitely at the edge. A top-class player will play around 38 Premier League games. There are also two cup competitions – let’s say you don’t go to the final, and let’s add on another five games. That makes 43. They then have international games with their national teams because pretty much all of them play for their national teams – that’s eight, nine or 10 games. Plus the Champions League – and the further you go, the more games it is."

Listening to the likes of Klopp and Pep Guardiola regarding this issue, a vote was passed for sides in the English top-flight to introduce an extra two players during proceedings and its impact is already being felt. The Reds have scored a total of nine goals from the bench this term, a tally that was not reached until January 9 last season, with Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho (2) and Roberto Firmino each finding the back of the net after being deployed in league matches. Liverpool managed only 17 goals in 63 games across 2021/22 from substitutes, ten of which arrived in the Premier League, a figure that seems certain to be beaten this time around.

Evidence to suggest teams really are reaping the rewards of this law change is being backed up by the current World Cup in Qatar. In the 36 matches that have been staged during the competition to date, 18 separate players have made their presence felt after being introduced by getting on the scoresheet. This number of goals is already greater than the total managed during the 2018 World Cup in Russia - a tournament whereby only three changes were permitted in regular time.

As Liverpool look to climb the Premier League during the second half of the season, Klopp's side would be wise to continue exploiting a change that has already served them well.

Goals scored by substitutes at the 2022 World Cup so far