German Jurgen Klopp and Italian Antonio Conte, coaches of Liverpool and Tottenham, respectively, demanded that the semi-finals of the English Football League Cup be held in two matches from one match instead of back and forth, due to the crowded schedule and the repercussions of the Corona virus.
And Tottenham left three postponed matches in the Premier League, which were postponed due to weather conditions or the outbreak of the Corona virus, and four players in Liverpool were infected with Covid-19 during the past week.
Klopp said: I think it would definitely be better to hold one match, but it is clear that what I say is not very important, revealing that the English Premier League coaches will meet on Thursday to discuss the concerns of the pandemic.
“I’m not just talking about the players’ welfare this year, I’ve been talking about it for six years or maybe more,” he added. If the things I say help more, I will say them again and again. But it does help. The only thing that happens is I put what I say in the headlines but it doesn’t lead to the real goals.
Conte commented: “Maybe it would be better to play one game than two, especially in light of the situation we are going through, but we have to respect the laws.”
Six out of 10 league matches were canceled last weekend, and this number is expected to rise in the coming weeks, after the League decided to continue the competitions despite Britain’s record numbers of injuries.
The semi-finals were held last season with a one-match system, unlike what is usually used due to the delay in the start of the season against the background of the pandemic, and this season it will return to the old system with two home and away matches.
Liverpool will meet Arsenal in the semi-finals, while Conte will face his former club, arch-rival Chelsea, in the other, during the first two weeks of next January.
