SHAQIRI SWITCH NO SNUB

JURGEN KLOPP isn’t worried his half-time hook for Xherdan Shaqiri could undermine the forward’s confidence.

The Liverpool manager surprised everyone at Anfield on Saturday by replacing the Swiss star (above) during the interval... even though Shaqiri had assisted two goals to give the Reds a winning lead.

Many made him their man of the match, but Klopp explained it was a tactical switch to strengthen the defensive side for the second half.

When asked if it could destroy the player’s belief, after his first start for the Reds, Klopp replied: “No, because I explained it. Now it is done. It’s not because of his performance, and I’m not worried it will cost his confidence.

“He is a naturally confident boy, and he will play again. It’s all good.

“I made a decision that I wanted to bring him in to play between the lines. But changing the system and not having real time to do it in training doesn’t feel comfortable.

“Defensively, we are used to jumping from midfield positions and today that made it difficult, so I made the tactical change.”