Having sat on the bench for the entirety of Liverpool's Europa League defeat with Villareal, Daniel Sturridge toiled up front for the entirety of today's largely meaningless 3-1 defeat to Swansea. Despite having one of the best goals-to-game ratios in Liverpool's history, Sturridge has failed to nail a starting berth for Liverpool's first team in the Europa League, and played in a much-changed side this afternoon.
After the game, Sturridge stormed straight down the tunnel, refusing to shake hands with the opposition:
Daniel Sturridge straight down the tunnel at full-time.
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) May 1, 2016
There have been concerns over Klopp's relationship with Sturridge for some time, and early on in his reign Klopp told the press that Sturridge - then on the comeback trail from injury - needed to learn what 'real pain' is. Klopp later apologised, citing his poor grasp of English, which seemed a questionable defence.
There is a feeling that Klopp is not convinced by Sturridge's work-rate and lead the manager's trademark 'gegenpress' from the front. For instance, following his goal against Newcastle last weekend, Klopp praised not the goal, but his striker's work-rate, as Sid Lowe flagged in the Guardian:
Perhaps he does not see in him the intensity he seeks. When Sturridge scored against Newcastle, his manager praised the work not the goal. There was a message there. There may have been a message here too. Next week Sturridge has the chance to deliver one of his own.
If there are concerns over the relationship between Klopp and Sturridge, the striker did not entirely dispel them in this intriguing interview in today's Daily Mail. Sturridge speaks coolly and professionally about his relationship with his manager, rather than in the wild, reverential tone Klopp usually inspires in players:
For me, our relationship is OK, there are no problems on my part. I've never said a bad word about the boss and never will say a bad word because he's the manager of Liverpool and he's the voice of the club. He's the person who represents the club on a global stage, so you have to respect the man and the things he says.
Klopp has form in expunging his squad of established strikers in the past. When he first took over at Dortmund, Klopp sold on forwards Alexander Frei and Mladen Petric for not buying into his methods. Both were established stars in the Dortmund team, yet Klopp had little issue in casting them out.
That is not to assume that the same will happen to Sturridge,but there is evidently a cooler relationship between Klopp and Sturridge than there is among other members of the squad, and while Klopp has spoken about the importance of managing Sturridge's fitness, it is very strange to play him for ninety minutes this afternoon and not play against Villareal at all. Sturridge does not agree that his fitness has to be managed in so carefully:
Klopp on Sturridge: "I spoke to him at half-time, he said 'I want to play the 90 minutes'. We have four days until Thursday. It's good."
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) May 1, 2016
It is becoming increasingly clear is that Daniel Sturridge and Jurgen Klopp may have to have a seriously important discussion in the summer.
