Thomas Tuchel and Jürgen Klopp have called on the English Premier League to act in view of the numerous corona cases. While Chelsea team manager Tuchel fears for the health of his players and has no understanding of sticking to appointments, Liverpool coach Klopp criticized the extremely tight schedule at the turn of the year.
Chelsea had asked in the face of seven cases in the squad, including national player Timo Werner, as well as others in the staff to postpone the game at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday – in vain. “We’re talking about protecting players and creating a safe environment. But it’s not safe,” said Tuchel after the disappointing 0-0 BBC: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we got even more positive results in the next tests . “
Six of the ten Premier League games over the weekend were canceled, but Chelsea had to play. “How can that be stopped when we are all sitting on the bus and have dinner together as if it hadn’t happened? People are worried,” said Tuchel.
Liverpool also had to compete without the Corona sufferers Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones and came to a 2: 2 (1: 1) at Tottenham Hotspur. Because the highly contagious Omikron variant is spreading rapidly in Great Britain, Klopp was also concerned.
“We’ll play again on Wednesday, Sunday and Tuesday. That is impossible. We don’t have the players for it,” said Klopp: “We can’t just push everything through.”
Klopp: One game in the league cup is enough
Klopp suggested, as a first step, not to play the semi-finals in the league cup with a return leg. “One game is enough wherever it takes place, I don’t care.” The games on December 26th and 28th are also a thorn in his side. “If we take a break, I can live with it. But I know the problem – when should we catch up on the games? We said even before Corona that the calendar was tight.”
Unlike Chelsea and Liverpool, leaders Manchester City won 4-0 (2-0) at relegation candidates Newcastle United. With that, City distance rivals Liverpool on three points, Chelsea in third place are six points behind.
