Phil Thompson has said he believes Jurgen Klopp's tactical system at Liverpool is preventing Daniel Sturridge from finding his best form.
The Liverpool legend leapedto the defence of Sturridge after the 27-year-old turned in another below-par performance in Monday's 0-0 draw with Manchester United, and Thompson claimed it was all down to Klopp's preference to play 4-2-3-1.
Sturridge was replaced by the fit again Adam Lallana after 60 minutes of the drab encounter at Anfield, and his display led to claims from ex-Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy to suggest that Sturridge's days at the club may be numbered.
Thompson, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, rejected that view, and insisted that Sturridge would begin to shine for Liverpool if he was played in a team that was adapted to how the forward likes to play.
He said: In a 4-2-3-1, he was isolated up front and it was very difficult to get into the game, with Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly doing a very good number on him.
It was without a doubt more due to the system than the player. With United defending so deep made it difficult to get into the game.
Liverpool great Thompson: There was nowhere for Sturridge to run agai... #LFC https://t.co/3o2F21cwxZ pic.twitter.com/RnabEZol2H
"There was nowhere for Daniel to run when they defended so deep. I think the compliment was that Jurgen Klopp didn't just change him for Divock Origi, but Roberto Firmino did better in terms of finding the spaces.�
Thompson added that he was under the impression that Sturridge would have been upset to have been withdrawn from the action so early on, and believed that either the England international or Liverpool team-mate Emre Can could have been replaced by Klopp as the German looked for a way to squeezeout a victory.
He added: He'll be disappointed because he was taken off so early but it did change things when Lallana came on. I must admit I did not think the first substitution should have been Sturridge coming off and it could have been Emre Can for Lallana, but I suppose it's a toss up between them.�
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