Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he was forced to take off Sadio Mane during Liverpool's 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge after the 27-year-old suffered a dead leg.
With 20 minutes remaining in the game and as Chelsea were starting to gain the upper hand, Klopp took off the Senegalese forward for James Milner.
N'Golo Kante scored moments later, casting questions over the consequences of removing the side's most potent counterattacking threat at a time when Liverpool would need to be playing on the break.
When asked on Sky Sports Super Sunday about why he substituted Mane, Klopp said: "It's a knock on the bone of the knee and a dead leg - that is an awful combination!
"He tried everything but there was one counter situation where he really tried and, on a non-dead leg day, he will get that ball but there was no chance.
"So we said, 'Come on, we have to do it' and changed."
Victory over Frank Lampard's side gave Liverpool their 15th consecutive victory in the Premier League and ensured that they remained five points ahead of Manchester City in the table.
Leo Nieboer
