Liverpool coach, Jurgen Klopp, is on alert ahead of the meeting against Inter Milan in the round of 16 of the 2021-2022 Champions League. The news of the absence of Nicolo Barella did not make the Liverpool tactician relieved. Because, he assesses, Inter Milan still has Arturo Vidal who is likely to replace Nicolo Barella in midfield.
As is known, Liverpool will visit Inter Milan headquarters in the first leg of the 2021-2022 Champions League last 16 at the San Siro Stadium, Thursday 17 February 2022.
In that match, it was reported that Nicolo Barella could not be fielded, because he was given a red card in the last match of the group phase against Real Madrid.
Jurgen Klopp praised the quality of Nicolo Barella. The German coach said that Barella was a skillful, aggressive player and had strong stamina.
“He (Barella) is a very good player, I like him very much, he has everything one wants from a central midfielder. He is technical, aggressive and can run for a long time, he is a top class player,” said Jurgen Klopp. , Wednesday (16/2/2022).
However, Jurgen Klopp does not consider the absence of Barella as an advantage. According to him, Arturo Vidal could be an option to replace Barella
“I’m not 100 percent sure, but maybe the replacement will be Arturo Vidal, maybe? He has played everywhere, at the top level and I think in this match, Arturo is very motivated.”
“So, I’m not really sure if it (Barella’s absence) can be an advantage for us, because he (Vidal) can take over the role of Barella,” he said. Furthermore, Klopp said that he did not want to focus too much on one or two opposing players.
The former Borussia Dortmund coach is more focused on his own team’s game in this crucial match. “But it’s not that important, I like to say that in this situation, it’s not important to think about who plays, it’s much more important how we play.”
