Switch to five substitutes has saved football – Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders believes the introduction of five substitutes in the Premier League this season has “saved football”. The number of substitutions was temporarily increased from three when football resumed amid the coronavirus pandemic in the summer of 2020. The changes come into place for a season unlike any other, with the World Cup slotted midway through the campaign in Qatar. It is a challenging dynamic that Lijnders wrote about in his new book ‘Intensity’ – the inside story of how Liverpool’s 2021-22 campaign unfolded. “In the book, it will explain really well how busy we were three quarters of a year ago, how we were already planning this season in terms of where do we go, what do we want,” the Reds assistant said. “We decided to go to Dubai. It’s close (to Qatar) so players can come quickly back, so they can prepare quick with the team again, and it gives us real time to prepare for the second sprint of the season.”