When Euro 2016 squads were announced a few weeks ago, an interesting statistic came to the attention of most Liverpool fans.
No other in team Europe would be taking more players to the competition; not Real Madrid, not Barcelona, not Juventus – Liverpool would be the best represented club at the competition.
For fans on Merseyside, it would supply a much-needed fix of the Reds during a break from club football, but for Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, it would set up a nervous few weeks in hope that twelve sets of arms and twelve sets of legs would return from France in one piece.
But it seems like any fears from the German may have been premature, with many players only making the odd appearance across the channel, whilst some are yet to even take to the field.
In total, Liverpool players have played 1366 minutes at this summer’s tournament, less than that of players from Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, and only marginally more than Swansea City – who have just four players in France.
Infact, Spurs players have played more than double the amount of minutes than Liverpool players so far, with the North London side leading the way in English teams with 2813 minutes between them.
Liverpool’s total works out at about 113 minutes of game time for each player on average out of a possible 360 minutes so far (excluding extra-time), or in simpler terms, 28 minutes per game, which puts them the second worst team in the league in terms of minutes per player representation for sides that have actually had a player take to the field in France.
Only Crystal Palace have fared worse with their four players having played an average of 101 minutes between them, whilst Bournemouth, Hull City and Middlesbrough are the only three Premier League teams yet to be represented at the tournament.
At the top, three of Swansea’s four players have played every second of every match at the tournament, putting them leaders of the list with an average of 337 minutes played per player, out of a possible 360, whilst West Brom come in second with an average of 300 minutes played between four players.
Manchester City sit in third with an average of 271 minutes played between six representatives, whilst Tottenham’s leading high total of minutes puts them in fourth, with their 11 players averaging 255 minutes each.
For Liverpool fans, it will be frustrating to see – the likes of Emre Can, Divock Origi and co. sitting on the bench when they could be resting at home, but Jurgen Klopp will be happy that the minutes racked up by his men are less than many of his rivals, after seeing a worrying amount of players be taken to France.
With six now having returned home, the Reds boss will be pleased to see at least another two back on Merseyside following the completion of the Quarter-Finals, as Wales duo Danny Ward and Joe Allen prepare to face-off against the Belgium trio Christian Benteke, Simon Mignolet and Origi, whilst Can’s Germany face the impressive Italians.
Regardless of how the rest of the tournament unfolds, Klopp and Liverpool fans alike will just be hoping that they’re all raring and ready to go come August 13.
