Jurgen Klopp threatens to pull Liverpool out of Carabao Cup over fixture pile-up
Jurgen Klopp has threatened to pull out of the Carabao Cup if Liverpool aren’t handed a proper date for their quarter-final clash.
The Reds drew 5-5 against Arsenal in normal time in the fourth round clash and won 5-4 on penalties.
It was a remarkable game, with several youngsters playing for the first time at Anfield. Our defence wasn’t great but we made it 5-5 in the final seconds of normal time.
The quarter-finals are scheduled in the same week as the Club World Cup. The Guardian reports that the Premier League and Football League are considering shifting our clash.
Klopp has insisted that this is not Liverpool’s problem and that we wouldn’t play if the right date isn’t given (h/t Guardian):
“FIFA told us the Club World Cup will be there [Qatar] and we have to go there and we will do. The Premier League tells us we have to play in the Premier League, which we do obviously.
“The Carabao Cup, what we did tonight, if they don’t find an appropriate place for us, not 3am on Christmas Day, then we don’t play it.”
Klopp claimed that the football bodies have to decide the date but it made no sense if one club couldn’t feature in the games.
The German added that they wanted to win the clash and was open to not playing the next round:
“We will not be the victim of this problem. We play tonight, we wanted to win it, we did that, and if they don’t find a proper date, then we cannot play the next round and whoever is our opponent will go through. Or Arsenal play them.”
Success brings headaches for Liverpool
Landing the Champions League was a great ending last season but the Club World Cup will mess up our fixtures.
This is the price to pay for landing the top prizes but hopefully, we continue our journey in the Carabao Cup.
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The Reds should continue playing youngsters and maybe Klopp was just trying to pressurize the Premier League and Football League into giving us a decent date to play the next round.
