Why Jurgen Klopp is right in making a decision to not rotate goalkeepers for Europe

According to latest reports in Metro, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has decided not to rotate his goalkeepers for the Champions League this season, meaning £67m new signing Alisson Becker will be the first-choice in the Premier League and in the European games.

This is a change in policy from the German, who began the first phase of last season with Simon Mignolet starting in the league, and Loris Karius taking the gloves in Europe. However, with the latter making huge mistakes in the Champions League final, Liverpool have gone on and spent big on AS Roma’s Brazilian Alisson.

So the perception at Merseyside was that the latest recruit would be in goal for all the major games, with the other players providing support.

Now let us take a look at why this is a right decision by Klopp:

Defensive stability and effective communication

We always talk about good attackers winning certain games for their teams, but solid defences win leagues and big competitions. The primary factor for a defence to be solid and stable is to have communication level of the highest order.

For that to happen, the backline and the goalkeeper have to play a lot of games together, as it’s the only way to increase frequent talking, which will help in keeping the opposition quiet.

Rotating the keepers could be a part of the rationale why Liverpool defenders were unsure last season. They never had one constant guy behind them to sync the communication level. Now, with Virgil van Dijk in along with Alisson, the defensive line will have more talks about how to defend as a unit and not get disarrayed when the pressure is high.

Furthermore, Mignolet has been provided with enough chances by Klopp to prove his worth at Anfield. However, the Belgian failed to really convince everyone around and on the other hand, Karius has been sent to Besiktas.

Verdict

In many aspects, this is a right decision by the manager. This shows that he wants consistency from his defence, which will help his team to be more secure as a unit. It would help them win tight games.