Jurgen Klopp explained his decision to start Curtis Jones at right back as Liverpool faced Leicester in the League Cup.
Klopp was anticipated to make 11 changes to his lineup from Sunday’s 3-1 win over West Ham, but only 10 were named on the teamsheet.
Jones retained his starting spot from the weekend and took the captain’s armband from Virgil van Dijk, albeit his involvement was in a new capacity.
With Wataru Endo, Harvey Elliott, and Ryan Gravenberch in midfield, the 22-year-old was forced to play right back, allowing him to roam into central areas.
It was a huge success, with Klopp later saying that he used the bait of captaincy to’sell’ the concept of starting in defense.
“I sold the right-back idea with the captaincy, let me say it like that!” he told reporters.
“But he was already overjoyed when I told him he’d be playing right-back.”
“I have to say, the way he executed it was very special.” Wow. “You’re a genius.”
In reality, Klopp changed the midfielder to right-back out of necessity, stating that none of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, or Stefan Bajcetic were fit enough to start.
“We couldn’t keep playing Stefan for long; we had to be cautious with him.” Joey will be fine for the weekend, but not today. “It’s too early for Trent,” he added.
“So I need to find solutions, and Curtis was always a potential solution in my mind because he’s really football smart.”
“That’s the way it is. He adores being on the ball, and the deeper you go, the more frequently you can get it.
“I have to say, for the first time in a strange position for him, it was a top performance.” He did an excellent job.
“I really enjoyed that. He’s in a fantastic mood, therefore he could probably play any position right now.
“But we will try to use him as often as possible in his natural position.”