Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders says Reds playing two games in four days is ‘absurd’
Sarah Jacobson 
Liverpool’s assistant coach Pep Lijnders has criticised the club for playing two games in four days. He believes that it is “absurd” to play a league game on Saturday and Champions League match midweek, especially with Liverpool supporters having travelled from across Europe.
Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders says that the Reds playing two games in four days is “absurd” because of the amount of time they are spending on the road. Read more in detail here: cincinnati baseball team.
Following positive Covid tests, Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, and Thiago Alcantara were among the Liverpool players who did not play against Spurs on Sunday.
Given the amount of Covid-19 instances and injuries at the club, assistant manager Pep Lijnders believes it is “absurd” that Liverpool must play two games in four days.
Despite an increase in Covid-19 instances, Premier League teams decided to complete holiday fixtures during a meeting on Monday.
“We appreciate the intensity,” Lijnders remarked, “but we all have to respect recuperation.”
“We believe it’s crazy that we have to play after 48 hours,” he continued. There’s a substantially bigger chance of being hurt.
“You’ll have to inquire as to why the teams desire to compete. With the Covid cases still fresh, it seems sensible to give yourself a little extra time before the next game.”
Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, and Thiago Alcantara were among the Liverpool players who were absent against Tottenham due to positive Covid tests, while captain Jordan Henderson was suffering from a cold.
When it comes to dealing with the influence of Covid-19, Lijnders believes the Premier League should listen to scientists rather than club administrators.
Last week, 90 positive tests were returned by Premier League players and club employees, resulting in the postponement of six of the ten games scheduled for the weekend.
It has been recommended that the Premier League’s gameweek 20, which is scheduled to begin on December 28, be postponed in order to relieve squad strain.
Clubs, on the other hand, have been instructed to complete their games if they have 13 fit players plus a goalie.
“The specialists for me are the scientists and physicians, not the management,” Lijnders said.
“We must obey their instructions. They should be asked by the Premier League, not the CEOs or the managers, since health always takes precedence above anything else.”
Playing Kante in a ‘near-irresponsible’ manner Tuchel –
After N’Golo Kante returned from injury, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel thinks starting him against Wolves at the weekend was “near to reckless,” but he felt he had no alternative due to a lack of choices.
Kante had not played for the first team in almost a month, but with nine players out due to injury and sickness, he was able to play the whole game at Molineux.
Chelsea could only designate four outfield replacements, and the Premier League refused their request to postpone the game.
“N’Golo Kante played 90 minutes against Wolves, which was close to reckless,” Tuchel stated, adding that the midfielder would be rested against Brentford in the EFL Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.
“We’re taking tremendous chances, and we’re paying the price now because we can’t play five games in two weeks, or three games in one week, with so many players out.”
Tuchel also said that a planned two-week circuit break, which has been offered as a potential remedy to stop the increase in cases, may not be helpful, despite the fact that it would favor his team in the near run.
“Perhaps it would have just served to postpone the issue. Nobody can guarantee that if we wait ten days, we won’t have the same issue in three weeks “the German continued.
“Some teams have a lot of problems, and we have a lot of problems right now, which is why a little break could have been beneficial for us. However, it’s possible that we would have faced another squad that was suffering at the time.”
West Ham manager David Moyes revealed that “one or two” of his players and staff had tested positive for Covid-19, but that the others are “OK.”
On Wednesday, the Hammers face Tottenham in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
A circuit breaker in Brentford placed them in a ‘good position.’
Thomas Frank, the Brentford manager, claims he no longer has any positive Covid cases in his team.
Brentford’s last two games, against Manchester United and Southampton, were canceled due to the illness, but their EFL Cup encounter against Chelsea on Wednesday is set to go ahead as planned.
“We’ll send 11 players out, that’s for sure,” Frank, who was the first Premier League manager to request for a break in the matches, stated.
“Because of the [postponements], we were able to break the circuit, and instead of six or seven instances on Thursday, we only had one on Saturday, zero on Monday, and zero today. As a result, we’re in a great position.”
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