Not so long ago, when Jürgen Klopp wanted to spare his magic attacking trio, his options were called Divock Origi or Xherdan Shaqiri.

In defence, he had to call on Dejan Lovren.

We can not say that these players were unworthy.

Lovren had been the hero of an epic return match against Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the Europa League 2016 (4-3) and Origi had scored a legendary double against Barcelona in the semi-finals of the C1 in 2019 (4-0) .

The Belgian had scored again in the final to seal the continental title of the Reds.

But those three goals were half of his personal tally that season.

The joy of the Belgian striker of Liverpool Divock Origi, after scoring the 4th goal, and his 2nd of the evening, against Barcelona, ​​during the semi-final return of the Champions League, on May 7, 2019 at the Stade d 'Anfield Road Paul ELLIS AFP/Archives

Today, when Klopp feels a starter needs a breather, his options are far more formidable.

Up front, Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino are credible alternatives to Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota.

Behind, a Virgil van Dijk-Ibrahima Konaté hinge does not seem much less solid than the usual VVD-Joel Matip coupling, the fourth choice being Joe Gomez, who has also already proven his quality in this position.

Colombian Luis Diaz (l) and Portuguese Diogo Jota are replaced by Egyptian Mohamed Salah and Brazilian Robero Firmino during the Premier League Round 27 match against Arsenal on March 16, 2022 at the Emirates Stadium in London Adrian DENNIS AFP/Archives

The importance of the 5 replacements

This wealth of squad is all the more important since it is not only a question of managing metabolisms over a season, but also of influencing the course of the match even more.

In a Champions League which allows 5 changes since the covid crisis - which will only be extended to the Premier League at the start of the next exercise - the quality of the bench makes it possible to make significant differences over 90 minutes.

In the round of 16 first leg, when his team was tossed around by an Inter Milan that was too clumsy in front of goal, Klopp launched Firmino at the break, joined by Jordan Henderson, Naby Keïta and Diaz on the hour mark. Coaching winner since the Brazilian had opened the scoring a quarter of an hour from the end, for a victory (2-0) in Milan which had opened wide the doors of the quarters.

German Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp congratulates Brazilian midfielder Roberto Firmino, scorer in the 2-0 victory over Inter Milan, in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League, on February 16, 2022 at the Stade San Siro Filippo MONTEFORTE AFP/Archives

In the quarter-final first leg, last week in Lisbon, still on the hour mark, Jota replaced Salah, Firmino took the place of Mané, and Henderson that of Thiago Alcantara, allowing Liverpool to not only give themselves a nice advantage in view of the return (3-1), but also to keep freshness for last Sunday's clash in the Premier League against Manchester City (2-2).

Over the last few transfer windows, Liverpool have sought to correct a glaring disadvantage to arch-rivals Manchester City, who have two or even three options in almost every position.

A rich menu

The club had sometimes been criticized for its lack of ambition in its recruitment.

"Do we have the solution for everyone outside the club to be 100% happy? I don't think so, because people want a world-class player here, a world-class player there, and the guy on the bench is also world class," Klopp admitted in the summer of 2019. "It's not easy, but we're working on it, obviously," he continued.

Liverpool's German coach Jurgen Klopp during a press conference on April 12, 2022 at Anfield Road Stadium in Liverpool, on the eve of the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Benfica Paul ELLIS AFP

The Reds also learned the lesson of last season when, hit by an avalanche of injuries, they very quickly abdicated the defense of their league title to finish 17 points behind City, and lowered their flag in the quarter-finals of the C1 against Real Madrid (3-1, 0-0).

But this year, there are no excuses.

"One trophy per season is the minimum we must achieve. With the squad we have, the coach is what we expect and if that's not the case, it's will be a huge disappointment”, even estimated Trent Alexander-Arnold in mid-February.

The contract was fulfilled with the League Cup victory a few days later, but Liverpool can still add the championship, the FA Cup and the C1 to it.

A copious menu but which does not scare him.

© 2022 AFP