JURGEN KLOPP has complained that Liverpool’s preseason is too short – so he arranged a friendly after their Premier League opener with Fulham.
The red boss, who also complained about Saturday’s schedule Community Shield against Manchester Cityhas collided with Steven Gerrard’s in pencil behind closed doors Aston Villa.
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This will take place on Sunday, just 24 hours after the journey to the newly promoted Cottagers.
Incredibly, Liverpool will also play at home against Strasbourg on Sunday, the day after the Community Shield at Leicester’s King Power Stadium.
Klopp, whose team has played four friendlies so far, said: “We have yet to prepare for a season. We cannot ignore that.
“I can’t ignore the fact that after this important game with City there is a season coming up, so we have to extend our pre-season into the season.
“We play against City on Saturday and on Sunday we play a pre-season test match against Strasbourg. Then we have Fulham. The next day we play another game, so we extend our pre-season and that’s what we have to do.
“From mid-August we have to play every three days. There is no more time to train. We try to do the right things, but the schedule will always be a challenge.”
Klopp, whose side was a Champions League finalist, is pushing for the Community Shield curtain to be played at a later date.
He added: “We have played this final a few times. It would be nice if we could win it. It’s the last domestic cup we haven’t won.
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“I like the competition, but maybe it’s possible to find another date for it because we had a longer season than other teams and had a shorter preparation, so this game doesn’t make much sense.
“Germany has a Super Cup final and the teams involved do not have to play a single cup round before that date. We have to find a way.”
Klopp confirmed keeper Alisson (abdomen) and striker Diogo Jota (hamstring) will miss Sunday’s game.
He added: “Ali trained today and so he will definitely be able to play against Fulham. Jota will take a while unfortunately.”
Klopp also insists Juventus target Roberto Firmino stays at Anfield.
He said: “Bobby is crucial to us. He is the heart and soul of this team. The way we played over the years was only possible thanks to Bobby. He is essential to us.
“We lost Sadio (Mane) after he told us he wanted to take on a new challenge and it was early enough so we accepted that. We had time to prepare for that situation.”