Klopp says five subs a 'necessity' as Alexander-Arnold ruled out for England

Alexander-Arnold had to be substituted during the second half of Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Sunday, having suffered an apparent calf injury.

The full-back was due to be part of Gareth Southgate's England squad for games against the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland during the November international break.

However, Klopp has said Alexander-Arnold will not be available for those upcoming fixtures during a hectic schedule in a 2020-21 season that will climax with the delayed Euro 2020 tournament.

Premier League clubs voted down the use of five subs for this term, a rule that was utilised when the previous campaign resumed after the coronavirus-enforced break, much to the disappointment of the Reds boss.

"It's a lack of leadership," Klopp said in his post-match media conference. "[Premier League CEO] Richard Masters sold it completely wrong.

"It's not an advantage [to be able to use five substitutes], it's a necessity. It happens in other countries, it was sold completely wrong and now you have this situation.

"Trent will be out for England, will not be the last or only one Gareth will have to deal with either."

4 - Since a run of 35 consecutive Premier League wins when opening the scoring between February and July, Liverpool have failed to win four of their last seven games when scoring the opening goal (D3 L1). Pegged. #MCILIV pic.twitter.com/pcz5wMMjJ2

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 8, 2020

City counterpart Pep Guardiola echoed Klopp's views on the decision to revert back to three changes per team in the top tier, as taken at a shareholders meeting in September.

Asked about what he had discussed with the Liverpool manager at full-time, Guardiola – who used just one change during Sunday's clash – told Sky Sports: "We did not speak about the result. We spoke about how we have to fight again about five substitutions.

"Look, an international England player – Trent Alexander-Arnold – is injured. All around the world, five substitutions. Here, we believe we are more special and have only three.

"We don't protect the players. That's why it is a disaster. I will demand that we come back with five substitutions to help the players, the managers everywhere. If not, it is difficult to sustain it."

Klopp also backed up Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's criticism of the schedule, the Manchester United boss having hit out at his side being made to feature in the early kick-off on Saturday just over 48 hours after returning from a Champions League fixture in Istanbul.

"We have to find solutions, it’s so tough and we need to play football but Wednesday night and 12:30pm (Saturday) must not be allowed," Klopp said.

"If the Tuesday teams are in contention for Saturday that's okay, but the Wednesday [teams] should not be in contention for those games.