Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp explained starting their rout of Manchester United with Sadio Mane on the bench.
Liverpool stormed to an historic 5-0 thumping over their fiercest rivals at Old Trafford, breaking a host of records along the way.
Klopp started Diogo Jota alongside Roberto Firmino and star man Mohamed Salah.
And the German chief has revealed it was simply a squad rotation decision - believing he wouldn't miss a beat with Jota in the XI.
Ahead of the game, Klopp told Sky Sports: "We have to use the squad, that's how it is.
"In a game like this, you don't want to be changing six or seven times.
"But Diogo before the international break was in outstanding scoring form then went to the national team, slightly injured and needed a little bit of time to come back."
Klopp also explained why 22-year-old Ibrahima Konate was given only his second Prem start.
The £36million summer buy from RB Leipzig was picked alongside Virgil van Dijk ahead of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, despite his relative lack of experience.
The German chief claimed: "Ibrahima is training at the highest level.
"Of course, Joel is a great player, but we cannot just push it through all the time.
"We saw a few things where we thought it would be a good game for Ibrahima."
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