"He played Kovacic who came back from long-term injury" - Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he has sympathy for Thomas Tuchel amid Chelsea's COVID-19 crisis

Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp has sympathized with Thomas Tuchel after Chelsea fielded an understrength team against Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday.

Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw by Wolves as their second-string team failed to find the back of the net. The Blues were missing several key personnel due to COVID-19.

The trio of Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for COVID-19, while Jorginho, Kai Havertz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were not on the team bus either.

Klopp himself was without several first-team players for Liverpool's match against Tottenham Hotspur as the trio of Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones tested positive.

Thiago Alcantara did not make the matchday squad either and is suspected to have tested positive too. Jordan Henderson reportedly had a heavy cold, and wasn’t included in the matchday squad as well.

Chelsea decided to play Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante despite the fact that the duo had only just returned from injuries. Klopp too had to do the same by fielding a lineup with James Milner and Naby Keita.

The Liverpool midfield duo have not played much since returning from their respective injuries, and Klopp compared the situation to that at Chelsea.

"Thomas Tuchel… I saw the bench today from Chelsea, come on… he has to play [Mateo] Kovacic, he has to come back from a long-term injury," Klopp said.

Chelsea manager's warning could come true after Liverpool's positive cases

Liverpool had to rule out several players on matchday and it is becoming a worrying pattern in the Premier League of late.

Following the game against Wolves, Tuchel said more stringent protocols need to be put in place, while more players will eventually test positive:

"It is not safe. We talk about protecting players and a safe environment but it is not safe. I would be not surprised if the next test shows up and we have more positives," Tuchel said.

"How should it stop if we sit in the bus and have dinners and just stay together like nothing happened?," he added.

Both Chelsea and Liverpool were far from their strongest in their respective games and dropped points in the race for the title on Sunday.