You’d swear the first leg of the second EFL Cup semi-final was a snoozefest judging by the attention showered on a piece of paper that made its way on to the pitch during Southampton’s 1-0 victory.
In the wake of the final whistle, a note passed by Jurgen Klopp to striker Daniel Sturridge made far more headlines than the winning goal – which came via Nathan Redmond with a little help from Ragnar Klavan.
But it was actually a decent game, making it all the stranger that all anybody could talk about was said note, with theories of all shapes and sizes appearing online.
You don't see that every day https://t.co/3XorABnoep
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 11, 2017
Whatever the note said didn’t make any difference to the result, as all Sturridge could offer before full time was an effort that was blazed over the crossbar.
And, contrary to popular belief, there was no “get the fucking finger out” or “stop being shit lads” or even any message to Virgil van Dijk scribbled on the paper.
After the game, Klopp was asked what instructions he had issued to his centre-forward and he was nothing if not forthcoming as he explained the tactical directions he’d given to Sturridge.
Liverpool fan Twitter account Empire of the Kop revealed that the Reds boss told the media members at the post-match press conference exactly what he wanted to get across on the pitch with his note.
Klopp: "The note said new system, 3-5-2 so we could play with wingers and two strikers and Lallana and Coutinho in the half-space." #LFC pic.twitter.com/R5uePBvINQ
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) January 11, 2017
“Maybe it was a little bit too late. We gave the paper when the game was already running again, that was our mistake,” Klopp said, in quotes appearing in the Daily Mail.
“That’s not about being frustrated. That’s about thinking you have chance, that’ s all.
“What type of guy would I be if I sit outside if we play well I think I’m a wonderful manager? That’s not like this, we tried to help, we thought it makes sense to have real wingers, high, make it more difficult for them to defend the wing.”
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