Mohamed Salah should be rested for Liverpool ahead of Atalanta tomorrow night, and Jurgen Klopp should start an ‘exceptional’ player instead.
Tomorrow night will either be one of the greatest comebacks in Liverpool’s history or yet another disappointing result in a horrid April so far.
Liverpool will be eager to secure a remarkable comeback, and they will have confidence to do it having beaten Atalanta 5-0 in Bergamo only a few years ago.
But it won’t be easy. The reality is that under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool have only turned over a deficit by two goals or more once in European football.
That one occasion was the incredible 4-0 victory over Barcelona at Anfield. Since then Liverpool have faced a goal deficit in three previous knock-out games in Europe and failed to overturn it every single time.
The fourth time could be the charm for Liverpool. It’s exactly as many goals they will need to score without conceding tomorrow night.
But while it’s an important game, Klopp should make some rotations to the team.
Why Harvey Elliott should start over Mohamed Salah tomorrow
One player who famously missed the Barcelona comeback was Mohamed Salah. He was unable to play due to an injury and was forced to watch the game from the stands.
This time around against Atalanta, Salah will have no injuries to contend with. However, Klopp would be wise to start him on the bench.
Salah has only recently come back from an injury and he isn’t quite match sharp yet. He wasn’t at his best against Crystal Palace at the weekend and probably deserves the rest.
On the other hand, in Harvey Elliott, Liverpool have a player who is very much in the form of his life and could easily deputise for Salah at the moment.
In his last 11 games for Liverpool, Elliott has five assists, one penalty won and one goal. Impressively, he has only started five games in that period.
Why Harvey Elliott has been exceptional recently
Earlier this year, Jurgen Klopp expressed how Elliott has been ‘exceptional’ in training. During the last few months we’ve seen that on the pitch as well.
Elliott is so unique in his ability to create chances for his teammates, and recently everything good in attack has come mostly from him.
At 21-years-old, he is an incredible talent, and tomorrow night could be one of the games in which he truly announces his name. It will be a golden opportunity for him to write his name in Liverpool’s history books.