After the international break, Noel Gallagher backs Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of the team’s early kickoff against Manchester City.
Noel Gallagher, a former member of Oasis, and Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, agreed on the early kickoff against Manchester City. Following the November international break, on November 25, the Reds will take on City at the Etihad Stadium.
The game’s late kickoff time was rescheduled by the safety advisory group. Due to the fact that many players serving on continental international teams won’t have enough time to prepare, Klopp criticized the move.
Liverpool is currently ranked second in the Premier League table, and there is only one point separating the Reds and league leaders City. Players from South America are the ones who arrive late and need to travel the most during the international break. In South America, Liverpool’s Luis Diaz, Alisson Becker, Darwin Nunez, and Alexis Mac Allister are playing for their respective countries.
Speaking to talkSPORT (via Liverpool Echo), Gallagher expressed his support for Klopp, chastised the early kickoff, and expressed concern about possible player injuries. Says he:
“It’s a nonsense that it’s at half-12, I’m with Klopp on this. The 12:30 kick-off is set up to benefit people in other parts of the world, Liverpool have got a lot of fans in southeast Asia and I would imagine there’s someone sitting there thinking when Liverpool play half 12 the global ratings go through the roof. It’s one of the biggest fixtures in England and we’re not going to see the best of the two teams, Lord knows who’s going to turn up injured.”
Since Klopp took over, Liverpool has played 14 early kickoff matches following the international break, starting with their match against City. Tottenham Hotspur, with just six games before kickoff, is the second-closest team. Immediately following the October international break, the Reds took on Everton in the highly anticipated Merseyside derby.
Everyone can see the difference, but there hasn’t been a compelling argument offered for why the scheduling is so unfair. This season, Liverpool has already had a number of puzzling decisions go against them, leaving them with grievances against the match officials.
Notable mistakes by the referees led to the dismissal of players such as Mac Allister and Diogo Jota. The Reds’ lone Premier League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur also included the disallowance of a legitimate goal.