LIVERPOOL BOTH HAVE

Reds boss is right to fume over Kop is with those who OK kick-off times,

SO who holds the moral high ground in the row over Saturday-lunchtime kick-offs that prompted Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to lose his cool.

Is it Klopp, who saw another Kop star, James Milner, go down with injury? Or is it the broadcasters, in this case BT Sport, who insist that it’s not TV bosses who force Premier League teams into lunchtime duty?

The answer lies somewhere in between.

BT Sport, in the shape of touchline reporter Des Kelly, were correct to argue that it is the Premier League, in conjunction with the 20 top- flight clubs, who agree the timings of matches. But surely Klopp had a point too. Yes, 12.30 kick-offs on a Saturday were green-lighted by the Premier League – they have been a part of football for many years. But none of those years has been like this one. None of those years was wrecked by a pandemic.

Like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Pep Guardiola during this first few months of the new season, Klopp had every right to go ballistic over his players being asked to perform on a Saturday lunchtime directly after a Wednesday Champions League fixture.

The German, who sarcastically applauded the assistant referee after Brighton’s equaliser, had warned last week that the fixture scheduling means Liverpool may not finish the season with 11 players.

Milner’s premature end to this game underscored his concerns.

Another muscle injury. Another important Liverpool player rendered unavailable for a number of weeks.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, already out, voiced his concerns about a punishing schedule in Mirror Sport on Saturday.

Jordan Henderson, Andy Robertson, Joe Gomez, Xherdan Shaqiri and Thiago Alcantara – all of whom have suffered this season – would doubtless back him up.

When does it end for Liverpool? If you’re keen to see them surrender