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LONDON. — Arsenal’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg tie against Liverpool, which was scheduled for today, has been postponed at the request of the Merseyside club.
The game was plunged into doubt when the EFL confirmed on Tuesday that Liverpool, who are missing a number of players and staff due to a growing Covid crisis, had asked for the match to be called off shortly after they abandoned plans for a scheduled afternoon training session.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp remains in isolation after testing positive before last Sunday’s English Premier League clash against Chelsea, while Joel Matip, Roberto Firmino and Alisson Becker also missed the match after contracting the virus.
Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders, who took charge of the team at Stamford Bridge, also since returned a suspected positive test yesterday, while ‘’multiple players and staff’’ have also tested positive in the last few days.
Shortly after the news of Lijnders’ infection, the club announced that it would be temporarily shutting down its AXA Training Centre to prevent any further spread.
Liverpool’s squad is already stretched after Sadio Mane, Mohamad Salah and Naby Keita left for AFCON on Sunday, while Divock Origi, Harvey Elliott, Thiago Alcantara and Takumi Minamino remain out injured. An EFL statement yesterday confirmed Arsenal will now play Liverpool in a fortnight and will now be treated as the second leg semi-final.
“The EFL has been in regular dialogue with the club over the past 48 hours in an attempt to understand whether the tie could proceed but significant developments over this period have resulted in the club reporting an ever-increasing number of Covid cases,” a statement read. — Metro.
Online Reporter