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Jurgen Klopp concerned by state of Hong Kong pitch 48 hours before Liverpool play Crystal Palace
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is concerned about the standard of the pitch at the Premier League’s Asia Trophy in Hong Kong.
The Mong Kok stadium has been hit with torrential rain since Liverpool’s arrival, forcing Klopp to abandon a planned training session with his players in the arena.
And with four games to be hosted in the competition which also hosts Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City, the situation could deteriorate even further before kick-off.
More thunderstorms are expected in the region.
“Yeah, it’s a worry,” Klopp said upon arriving in the Far East.
“What can I say? I’m a football manager, I’m interested in the game, I’m interested in the quality of the game and different things have influence on the quality.
“Players do of course, the pitch is very important, but if it’s bad we can’t change it. We’ll see how it is.
“It’s an outside sport so you have to adapt to the weather and for all teams it’s the same. I hope it’s okay.”
It is not the first time the pre-season tournament has been impacted by sodden conditions. Such was the state of the pitch in 2013, it has since been re-turfed and a new draining pitch installed.
The Premier League expect the games to go ahead, however, with 40,000 fans anticipated to see the English clubs.
A spokesman said: "We have inspected the surface daily for the last week and are confident in the pitch. The stadium operators have invested significantly in a new surface and drainage system that is of a good standard."
Monsoon weather appears to be an occupational hazard for the Premier League clubs heading to Asia at this time of the year.
A year ago, Manchester United were due to play Manchester City in Beijing as part of the International Champions Cup pre-season tournament.
Both Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola called for the game to be postponed to avoid injuries to players on an unsuitable surface following torrential rain - a decision that was later taken.
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