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EFL Cup | Semi-Finals | 1st Leg

Jan 20, 2022 at 7.45pm UK

Emirates Stadium

Arsenal
0 - 2
Liverpool

Lacazette (44'), Tomiyasu (56'), Partey (87')
Partey (90')

FT(HT: 0-1)

Jota (19', 79')
Konate (63'), Jones (82'), Minamino (90+1')

Jurgen Klopp: 'Something was not right with Joel Matip'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 21 January 2022

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp confirms that Joel Matip was taken off against Arsenal because 'something was not 100% right' with the centre-back.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that something was not "100% right" with Joel Matip during Thursday's EFL Cup win over Arsenal.

The Cameroonian centre-back had a couple of shaky moments in the first half at the Emirates and was hooked at half time, with Ibrahima Konate taking his place.

Matip's substitution was initially thought to have been a tactical change, but Klopp has now confirmed that the 30-year-old was taken off as a precaution.

Speaking to the press ahead of Sunday's Premier League showdown with Crystal Palace, Klopp said: "No, Joel was not tactical. My God, how good was Joel.

"We thought something is not 100 per cent right and you can change five times, it's not a situation where you ask, 'What [can we do?] – we had Ibou and Joe on the bench, so we just changed. Nothing else."

Klopp has also confirmed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could return from his ankle problem at the weekend, but the game will still come too soon for Harvey Elliott.