Jurgen Klopp believes “not a lot of players [were] themselves” in the first half at Wolves, but hailed the impact of his substitutes in the 3-1 win.
Liverpool lined up as expected at Molineux bar two surprise picks, with Jarell Quansah making his first start at centre-back and Alexis Mac Allister retained.
The need for rotation was clear following the international break and with a 12.30pm kickoff, but it wasn’t the perfect setup from Klopp.
Going in 1-0 down, the manager needed to change things up, switching to a system closer to a 4-2-3-1 and replacing the struggling Mac Allister with Luis Diaz.
Cody Gakpo levelled the tie before being immediately swapped for Darwin Nunez, with Harvey Elliott also on for Diogo Jota, while later Ibrahima Konate took over from the cramping Quansah.
There was time, too, for a brief debut for Ryan Gravenberch who, as he explained the importance of his changes, the manager pointed out came close to making it 4-1.
“I thought Quansah did pretty well, probably Ali, besides that there were not a lot of players [who were] themselves,” Klopp told LFCTV.
“We cannot change that often, so we thought we’d change system and just give them a completely new setup.
“Brought on first Lucho, which was super helpful because he’s just a threat, I think directly the first situation was a one-on-one in the box.
“Bring on Darwin, Harvey, all the boys who came in, step by step, Ibou and then late obviously Ryan, who could have scored to be honest!
“First half was really bad, second half really good, 3-1.”
While Liverpool were far from their best in the first half at Molineux, it was another afternoon that flexed the strength in depth available to Klopp.
His bench on Saturday comprised of: Caoimhin Kelleher, Konate, Wataru Endo, Stefan Bajcetic, Elliott, Gravenberch, Diaz and Nunez.
The majority of those players could make a convincing claim for a starting spot – Konate, Diaz and Nunez are arguably first-choice starters already – but instead they were able to come off the bench.
It is a favourable position for Klopp at present, with Thiago, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold due to return in the near future and Ben Doak also not making the squad.
With a trip to LASK to come on Thursday night before the visit of West Ham on Sunday, it is exactly what Liverpool need as they juggle a new challenge this season.
