Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp, has claimed he substituted Mohamed Salah during their 3-2 defeat to Arsenal because he needed a “very intense” defensive display on his right side.
Gabriel Martinelli put the hosts ahead after just 58 seconds before Darwin Nunez equalized for the Reds.
But Klopp’s men, however, went into the break trailing after Bukayo Saka’s goal.
Roberto Firmino levelled once again for Liverpool, but Arsenal were awarded a penalty which Saka converted to secure the win.
Salah struggled to shine at the Emirates and was substituted in the 69th minute with the score at 2-2.
When asked why he subbed Salah off, Klopp said after the game: “I thought we can… so we had to defend again on a high level and we tried to put Hendo on that side there. Mo did unbelievable, a lot, really big, big workload, he put in a real shift.
“Sometimes it’s very intense and that’s why we thought we could do it with Hendo.
“We wanted still to win, even when we took a striker off.”