Klopp braced for 'one of the most intense seasons in our lives'

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp conceded the 2020/21 campaign will be one of the intense ever due to the amount of games and limited time.

Liverpool will return to competitive action on Saturday by facing Arsenal at Wembley in the Community Shield just over a month after their triumphant 2019/20 Premier League campaign ended.

The shortened summer break is a less than an ideal scenario for both clubs. It not only gave the players less time to recover, but meant they only had two weeks to prepare for this weekend.

The English FA has already had to make several adjustments to fit everything into the calender thanks to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which brought last season to a three-month halt.

It’s means the depth inside Klopp’s squad will be tested like never before as they try to manage a jam-packed schedule of Premier League, EFL Cup, FA Cup, and Champions League games.

Not helping matters is next summer’s European championships. It forces the Premier League to finish on May 23, despite starting a month later on September 12.

“Would I want to play a proper game after two weeks’ preparation? No, but we knew [about] it for a while,” said Klopp as quoted on Goal.

“It took a while until we got any schedule but since we’ve known it we’ve accepted it 100 per cent. We have had two weeks’ training and worked really hard.

“For us, like Arsenal, we prepare for a whole season — one of the most intense, probably, we have ever experienced in our lives because of the number of games and the time we have for that. It’s as perfect as we can be and we will try everything to win the game and Arsenal will do the same.”