Jürgen Klopp has said he has no regrets about leaving Daniel Sturridge on the bench for their Europa League semi-final defeat in Villarreal and says he would do the same again.
Sturridge, 26, signed for Liverpool from Chelsea in 2013 and he has since scored 43 Premier League goals from 67 appearances, although his time on Merseyside has been hampered by injuries.
The England international was left on the bench for the Reds’ 1-0 loss to Villarreal on Thursday, resurfacing doubts about his future.
The decision generated thousands of posts on social media but Klopp shrugged off the talk and defended his tactics.
“It is about finding a stability. With decisions like this it is always two questions,” he said.
“Was it the right decision to choose this lineup? With a 1-0 defeat you cannot be sure it is 100 per cent right. The next question is: Would I do it again? Yes. Then it is finished and I don’t have to think about it again.
“That is my life – making decisions and in the end accepting the result. My job is not to do what you the media want, what the player wants, it is to try to help the player and help the team in this moment.
The 26-year-old will return to the team for Sunday’s trip to Swansea and Klopp has no doubts the England forward will be ready to prove a point.
“That is my life – making decisions and in the end accepting the result. My job is not to do what you the media want, what the player wants, it is to try to help the player and help the team in this moment.
The 26-year-old will return to the team for Sunday’s trip to Swansea and Klopp has no doubts the England forward will be ready to prove a point.
“The mentality of Daniel is really good, very confident, because he has all these qualities and he knows about these qualities,” added the German.
Asked about his future, Sturridge said “There are things I want to achieve with Liverpool. I would never say I am Liverpool until I die, because I would be lying.
“I think any player who says, ‘Oh yeah, this is the only team I will play for, for the rest of my life,’ they are deluded. In football, every team looks for replacements every single year.
“So for myself all I can do every weekend is go out there, perform as well as I can, perform to the best of my abilities, and then come the end of the season hopefully have the European Championship to look forward to … and to next year.”
