Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said that the substitution of Philippe Coutinho was not the reason for his side only drawing 2-2 with Bournemouth on Wednesday.
Coutinho had helped give the Merseyside giants a 2-1 advantage before he was withdrawn by Klopp due to illness but rather than make a like-for-like change, the Liverpool boss introduced Joel Matip.
Bournemouth went on to net a late equaliser at Anfield, but Klopp has insisted that the alteration was not directly responsible for his team failing to see out the game.
The 49-year-old told Sky Sports News: "He was the best player on the pitch, but he felt sick. Hopefully he is not really ill. That didn't help the game.
"It was too early for Daniel [Sturridge] at this time in the game. He has only trained once with the team and it was a really intense game. Divock [Origi] was really good so to bring on a second striker at that moment didn't feel right. We wanted to defend the result but counter as well. We are a bit more experienced in this.
"It was not because of the system that we drew, it was after a set piece, whichever system you play you have to defend this better."
Liverpool hold a six-point advantage in the race for a top-four place in the table, but both Arsenal and Manchester United have two games in hand.
Darren Plant
