Premier League branded "naive" as Klopp explains Liverpool's Covid predicament

Premier League chiefs have been branded "naive" for not postponing Liverpool's clash with Newcastle despite Jurgen Klopp admitting he didn't ask for the game to be called off.

The fixture is one of the only Premier League games left standing after five matches were axed from this coming weekend's schedule amid rising Covid cases.

Liverpool were hit with three positive cases in the lead up to Thursday's clash at Anfield as Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones and Fabinho were all ruled out after contracting the virus.

That news was released with just an hour to go before kick-off and while tests were carried out on both teams, Klopp conceded his side were now heading into the match on the assumption that no other players were infected.

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Asked when he learned of the positive cases, Klopp told BT Sport: "This morning and yes of course it's a blow it's clear but it's the situation we're in.

"We all know that getting the jab doesn't make sure you don't get it it just helps you through the time with no symptoms or lesser symptoms that's why it's so important but of course we are not overly happy when we got the news but that's the time for all of us and we had to react and we reacted.

"I think at one point we have to make clear what exactly the rules are but of course with three players out of that squad we wouldn't have asked to not play a football game. It's just we don't know anything about any other club.

" Newcastle had no idea that we had cases. I think we had no idea if they had cases or not or this kind of thing. It's just getting a bit of conversation but for us of course we didn't think about that."

Chelsea's match against Everton also pressed ahead despite the Blues recording four positive cases - Romelu Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell - while another, Kai Havertz, was awaiting test results after feeling unwell.

The other arranged fixture on the night, Leicester vs Tottenham, was postponed after both clubs complained to the Premier League due to their squads being depleted by positive cases.

With spiralling Covid cases wreaking havoc on the fixture schedule, BT Sport pundit Jermaine Jenas questioned the Premier League's decision not to call off all matches in the current climate.

"What we've got this evening is a situation from a Liverpool point of view, their message is that everything is contained, hopefully, I suppose is what they're saying," Jenas said.

"But from what we're seeing and the amount of games and how quick this virus is developing throughout the Premier League it feels a little bit naive to me to think there's nobody else in that dressing room that could possibly have it.

"And then we're going into a situation where they're going onto a pitch against a Newcastle side that may not have it so you can almost guess what could possibly happen next is that we possibly have a situation at the weekend where Newcastle say 'oh sorry we've got cases as well' and that's the ongoing situation we're in now.

"Everybody is doing the best they can and I understand that, but the nature and the veracity it's travelling through the league and the players is key now. We had a situation the other day where Watford had players with COVID and Burnley didn't know about it."

He added: "I don't understand how that can be there needs to be more communication and I think from the Premier League's point of view, there needs to be more clarity of what constitutes the postponement of a game and what doesn't."

Joe Cole said: "The numbers would certainly help. There has to be leadership coming back down from the Premier League and the government as well really because we saw during lockdown how important football was to keep it going and how it lifted people's spirit.

"So the leadership needs to come from the government and the Premier League- some kind of baseline of what's acceptable and what's not."

Jenas concluded: "Let's be honest, if this is in April and this was Liverpool against Man City in a league-deciding type game, where do the dynamics sit then in regards to Liverpool's approach getting this game called off?"