Jürgen Klopp revealed what was written on a note handed to Daniel Sturridge during the second half of Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat at Southampton.
The striker ran around barking out instructions after receiving the piece of paper and then seemed to have trouble discarding it. Klopp explained what it contained: “New system. Whatever we want to call it, 3-5-2. Lucas at the back, Emre in the centre, two wingers, two strikers. Half space for Lallana and Coutinho. That’s all. No more information but it was enough. Maybe it was a little bit too late.
“We gave the paper when the game was already running again, that was our mistake.
“I would say seven or eight [of my players] knew immediately. Roberto [Firmino] needed a little longer [to understand]. But he was close enough to us. Things like this happen.
“That’s not about being frustrated. That’s about thinking you have chance, that’s all. What type of guy would I be if I sit outside, if we play well, I think I’m a wonderful manager, that’s not like this, we tried to help.
“We thought it makes sense to have real wingers, high, make it more difficult for them to defend the wing, to have to play someone in the centre, Phil and Adam. Two strikers. Roberto with Daniel. That’s all, it’s not because we’re frustrated.”