Daily Star
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp made seven changes to his side for Sunday’s game against Fulham, as the Reds looked to end their torrid run of form.
The defending champions went into the game against Scott Parker’s newly-promoted side having lost five of their last six Premier League games.
Klopp clearly decided that changes were needed, and rotated his side heavily with Tuesday’s Champions League clash against RB Leipzig possibly on his mind.
There was a new centre-back pairing, while Neco Williams started at right-back and Sadio Mane made way for Diogo Jota up top.
However, they went a goal down just before the interval after Mario Lemina pickpocketed Mohamed Salah and drilled past Alisson Becker.
The Reds never truly recovered, and were ultimately unable to get back into the tie.
Here are three things Klopp will have learnt from the Fulham game.
Jota is the future
Jota returned to the fold on Sunday after spending a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The Portuguese ace has struggled with injuries recently, but has looked exciting whenever he’s played.
On Sunday, he failed to make the breakthrough but was still threatening throughout the game.
He was the most threatening attacking player, and was eager to collect the ball and run at the Fulham defence.
Liverpool have struggled to break through defences this season, but Jota gave them their best attacking avenue.
Shaqiri has no role in Liverpool’s rebuild
Liverpool are expected to rebuild their squad this summer and it’s likely they’ll look to offload some of the deadwood in the side.
If they do look to sell players, Xherdan Shaqiri will likely be the first to go.
The Swiss playmaker simply isn’t good enough to be a backup option for Liverpool at the moment, and there aren’t few signs to suggest he’ll become one.
If Liverpool are to reclaim their Premier League title, they’ll need better class backup options.
With Salah, Mane, Firmino and Jota set to be rotated around, they’ll need a good level of forwards able to come in if the Reds suffer an injury crisis akin to their centre-back woes of this season.
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