Liverpool assistant boss Pep Lijnders believes that the reintroduction of the five substitute rule in the Premier League has "saved football" amid mounting concerns over fixture congestion.
The rule has been brought in for the 2022-23 campaign, having controversially been dropped in 2020 despite its widespread use across cup competitions and top-flight leagues in other countries.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has been a frequent advocate of the five substitute rule in order to protect player welfare, and Lijnders believes it is crucial given the mounting demands on the very best players.
“The big thing this season and I think the most decisive aspect of this season will be how teams use the five subs because that will change massively the Premier League,” Lijnders told the PA news agency.
“We’re really happy with that because it means that we can play intense from minute one until minute 95 – [then it is] how to use the squad, how to deal that we play every three days.
“I think the rule saved football, in my opinion, because if you want to play every three days, this was one of the musts to have.
“I’m really happy that the Premier League saw that, that the clubs saw it but I think as well it is a weapon.”
One of the counter-arguments to the five-sub rule was that it was seen to benefit clubs with larger squads, with managers regularly going head-to-head over the issue.
As the most outspoken, Klopp would often engage in media rows with the likes of Sean Dyche and Chris Wilder, now the former bosses of Burnley and Sheffield United respectively.
Speaking back in February after a Champions League trip to Inter Milan in which Jordan Henderson, Luis Diaz, Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino all came off the bench before the hour mark, with Firmino scoring in a 2-0 win, Klopp rejected the claim that the rule favoured sides like his.
“Honestly, for people to suggest it is an advantage tactically has nothing to do with it [his argument],” he said.
“Absolutely nothing. It’s absolutely not true that it gives us an advantage. I can’t believe it is still discussed like this. It is the reason why in this country it is still not five subs. In pretty much all the other countries it is the case.
"It doesn’t make Bayern 20 points ahead of other teams or in Italy all of a sudden the better teams are running away with it. They are not. It is a very tight competition. In this country we hide behind the fact that: ‘It helps them, I can’t see how it helps us.’"
Pep Lijnders Intensity: Inside Liverpool FC - Our Identity, published by Reach Sport, is on sale August 4 from Amazon
