Klopp's bold gamble on a fab four as attack best form of defence

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (left) and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after the final whistle during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium, Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.  

Jurgen Klopp can be football’s grinning gambler. He has made his footballing fortune on a series of unlikely bets. Eschewing orthodoxy can pay off in spectacular style. When he sold Philippe Coutinho, then the second most expensive footballer ever, he did not replace him, and went on to win the Champions League 16 months later. When he went a summer without paying a transfer fee for a senior player, he ended Liverpool’s 30-year wait to become champions of England.

When he approached what he deemed the most difficult match in world football, he opted for another seemingly illogical formula. Pep Guardiola can be the high priest of the midfielder, the man who tries to cram ever more into a team, the manager whose sides are defined by passing and possession. And so Klopp left himself undermanned in midfield. Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum were an overworked, outnumbered duo. It was bold, brave and it threatened to backfire.