Jurgen Klopp explains why Thiago Alcantara was subbed early in Liverpool’s defeat of West Ham

Liverpool earned a 1-0 victory over West Ham United at Anfield.
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Jurgen Klopp substituted Thiago Alcantara in Liverpool’s victory over West Ham as he didn’t want to take any risks.

The midfielder had a fine game in the Reds’ 1-0 success. His brilliant pass picked out Kostas Tsimikas, who then crossed for Darwin Nunez to head home Liverpool’s 22nd-minute match-winner.

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It was a surprise to the Anfield when Thiago was brought off in the 53rd minute. Fabinho came on as his replacement.

But given the Reds’ hectic schedule until the season pauses for the World Cup, Klopp didn’t want the Spain international to suffer a potential injury.

The Liverpool boss told Amazon Prime: “We have to consider different things. Thiago stretched once on the pitch, which is for me a warning sign that we have to react pretty much on everything, so it was clear we had to change him.”