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Joe Gomez has said Jürgen Klopp was right to withdraw Sadio Mané against Atlético Madrid as the referee was affected by the antics of the home players and frenzied atmosphere inside the Estadio Metropolitano.
Klopp admitted substituting the Senegal striker at half-time of Liverpool’s Champions League defeat out of concern he would receive a second yellow card from Szymon Marciniak, the Polish referee he accused of failing to deal with Atlético’s play-acting.
The Liverpool manager also claimed it was Atlético’s “plan to get Sadio out of the game” after the forward was booked late in the first half. By removing the influential forward 45 minutes into a game in which Liverpool did not have a shot on target, Klopp granted Atlético their wish but Gomez insisted the Liverpool manager was left with no alternative given Marciniak’s display in Madrid.
“It is frustrating,” the England international defender said. “We’re all competitors and it’s annoying when you give your all and the ref does something and you feel as though it’s not right. That’s all the manager is saying. We’re going to compete but if it’s taken out of our hands by the atmosphere or their reactions then we don’t want to let that disadvantage affect the game. We have to stick to our gameplan, play our way and atmosphere plays a big part when the crowd’s jeering at certain moments in the game or fouls and so on. It doesn’t help. It will be a different occasion at Anfield.”
Virgil van Dijk agreed the atmosphere made it “difficult” for the referee but, by contrast, claimed Liverpool were prepared for Atlético’s time-wasting tactics and theatrics. The major problem on the night, he said, was conceding after four minutes and playing into the hands of Diego Simeone’s team as a consequence.
“We expect it to be like that,” said the Netherlands international. “First of all, with the goal we gave them something they could hold on to. The fans helped them, it was a difficult atmosphere for the referee as well to be out there. I managed the game as good as possible and everyone is jumping around you. Everyone has to deal with them. They got help from their fans and their manager was fired up with the fans. It’s all football but it all started with the goal we conceded. We’re frustrated we lost but still have another 90 minutes.”
Tuesday’s defeat was only Liverpool’s third of the season – the Carabao Cup exit with a youth team at Aston Villa included – and, despite their inability to break a fine Atlético defence in the first leg, Gomez insists the European champions will relish the return at Anfield on 11 March.
“It’s only halfway done,” he added. “We’ve come back from bigger deficits. The second leg is at Anfield so I think there are positives to take. We never want to lose and it’s not something we’ve got in the habit of this year, but I think we dominated the majority of the game. They made it difficult. They played to their strengths, breaking down play, breaking up play, slowing it down, and the atmosphere. We’ll do the same when it comes to the chance to play at Anfield – we’ll use our atmosphere and supporters in the same way.”
“We’ve been down way more than this. They’re a good team but we know that we can dominate and play our way and the chances will come. We have to go into the game not thinking we have a mountain to climb.”
Despite drawing encouragement from overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit against Barcelona in last season’s semi-final, Gomez admits Diego Simeone’s team and tactics will present an entirely different proposition at Anfield.
He said: “When I say we’ve come back from deficits I don’t mean to draw comparisons, but we know we’ll get chances and we can’t go into the game thinking we’re not going to score. They do drop deep and sit behind the ball but it’s down to us to stay patient, play our way and things will open up.”
Jordan Henderson is due to have a scan on Thursday on the hamstring injury that forced him off 10 minutes from the end of Tuesday’s game. Klopp said the midfielder did not think the problem was serious.
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