Jurgen Klopp admits he briefly considered using full-backs to ease Liverpool’s defensive crisis.
With Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all sidelined by injury, the German deployed Jordan Henderson and Fabinho as makeshift centre-backs.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson’s respective positions remained unchanged despite options in the Reds’ defence appearing light on occasion.
But Klopp has outlined why he resisted the temptation to move the pair infield during his attempts to ease the burden felt at the heart of his backline.
He said: “Yes, I thought about [moving them] once or twice, to be honest.
“We didn’t do that in the end. The thing is that losing the centre-halves you usually play with changes the complete structure of the game.
“It changes everything; the build-up, the formation, how you set up, the protection. That’s how it is, so you have to build the team on this position.
“How you can defend depends on the players who play [there] and these kind of things. That’s one thing we had to constantly.
“Another thing which is pretty stable for us is the way our full-backs play and perform.
“If you put them out now on top of that, you change the structure in the middle and on the wing, which is a double change.
“That’s probably the reason why I didn’t do it.”
The Liverpool manager also spoke of his pride that Mohamed Salah is on course to claim his third Premier League Golden Boot within four seasons.
Salah heads into Sunday’s trip to Sheffield United on 17 top-flight goals, two clear of his nearest challenger in Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes.
“It’s just a little awkward when I have to praise my own players which I like to do, to be honest,” added Klopp.
“I think especially in Mo’s case, the numbers speak for themselves. But Mo is not only a goal scorer. He [has] developed football-wise as well.
“He is a very important player for us and hopefully will be that for a long, long time.”