Liverpool beat Watford 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday
Saturday 24 November 2018 18:29, UK
Jurgen Klopp has revealed he was about to substitute Jordan Henderson just before the Liverpool captain was sent off in their 3-0 win against Watford.
Henderson saw red in the 82nd minute after picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Etienne Capoue after his first booking for a shove on Isaac Success on the hour mark.
It means he will miss the Merseyside derby next weekend - live on Sky Sports - and manager Klopp says he was about to bring Henderson off for Fabinho, but remained in a positive mood.
"We cannot change it anymore and he is a fantastic boy, an outstanding, good person with a big heart and sometimes you don't do the right things in the right moments," he told Sky Sports.
"He obviously didn't have as much oxygen anymore and it was only a little touch, but I would have given the second yellow as well.
"The only problem was, we already wanted to change him. Fabinho was ready and we couldn't make the change because it went differently, but it is all good."
The Vicarage Road win saw Liverpool continue their unbeaten start to the Premier League season, and despite Henderson's dismissal, Klopp was very happy with the "perfect" result.
"The performance was really good and result was perfect," he added. "Winning 3-0 at Watford is unbelievably difficult. We lost here in my first season so to win here is really special.
"Coming back after an international break and playing a team who only had three or four players away I think, meaning they could train properly - we could only train Wednesday and Thursday - and to play against such an organised team is difficult.
"They stuck to what they wanted to do - deep defending, counter-attacking, long balls, going for second balls - which is difficult to defend for us. On the other side, we had to stay stubborn as well, we had to pass, to be patient but stay lively and accelerate.
"In a few moments, the tempo change could have been a bit more obvious but even then, we had our chances. They had clear moments as well, but then you have to stay in the game and stay concentrated, focused and do what you did again but better and that's what we did.
"It is one of the biggest wins in the season so far because the way of Watford is really special."
