Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp: Chelsea playing the same 14 players is making difference in title race

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has insisted that Chelsea’s ability to field the same 14 players “all the time” has made the difference in the title race.

At the start of December Liverpool were just a point off Antonio Conte’s league leaders but have since tumbled to fifth place, 11 points off Chelsea.

Klopp’s side have also crashed out of both cup competitions, losing a two-legged EFL Cup semi-final to Southampton and being eliminated from the FA Cup by Championship side Wolves three days later.

Chelsea have shown no signs of slowing in their march to the title and are eight points clear of Manchester City. Klopp, however, noted how sharply their fixture list diverged from his, which saw Liverpool play 12 games in 40 days.

Asked what he had learned from Liverpool’s struggles Klopp told reporters at Liverpool’s training camp in La Manga: “December-January. Not even Chelsea came through without no problems but they were able to play the same team all the time.

“They left the EFL Cup when, before it started? [It was the fourth round] I don’t remember them playing one game in that competition. ‘Get rid of this.’

“I spoke to Antonio [Conte] for a long time at Anfield, maybe 25 minutes, and he mentioned it [the fixture schedule] but said they could play the same 13-14 players all the time. That is the big difference.”

After their gruelling run of games in January Liverpool will have played just three games by the end of February, the most recent being a 2-0 win over Tottenham.