Arne Slot Fires Back at Critics, Citing Man City and Chelsea Tactics to Justify Shocking Liverpool Team Selection
In a series of increasingly frantic post-match press conferences, Liverpool boss Arne Slot presented a collection of unconvincing explanations to defend his shockingly inexperienced starting lineup against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, including an awkward comparison to Manchester City and Chelsea's team selections.
Slot implemented 10 alterations for the midweek Carabao Cup encounter, with left-back Milos Kerkez being the sole holdover from the squad that fell 3–2 to Brentford on Saturday evening. Andy Robertson was repositioned to center-back while 18-year-old Kieran Morrison earned his professional debut on the right wing.
Palace showed significantly less rotation in their starting eleven, which importantly featured Liverpool nemesis Ismaïla Sarr, who netted twice in a commanding 3–0 victory at Anfield.
The most concerning element of Slot's team selection was the absence of veteran leadership on the bench. Players like Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Mohamed Salah were completely omitted from the matchday roster. The nine substitutes combined for just 19 first-team appearances, with none exceeding 21 years of age.
As Slot acknowledged after the match, Liverpool weren't the only team to rotate heavily for the Carabao Cup. Manchester City also implemented 10 changes. Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola could introduce the vastly experienced combination of John Stones, Joško Gvardiol and Phil Foden from the substitutes' bench in a match against Championship outfit Swansea City—not the current FA Cup holders.
3 games, 4 goals and 1 assist.
Ismaïla Sarr has loved facing Liverpool this season. pic.twitter.com/dMAqrWUa1Y
"I observed City's formation and I don't believe they had one regular starter from the weekend," Slot incorrectly complained, "but it appeared as though their lineup featured their 11 main players. So perhaps it also provides some perspective—everyone has consistently mentioned how extensive our squad is."
Then the coach who supervised the biggest transfer expenditure in football history this past summer referenced another Premier League competitor as an illustration of the squad depth that Liverpool allegedly cannot match.
"When we faced Chelsea, I remarked, 'They're without eight players but they can still field Estêvão.' We are only missing four players currently and already we had to begin with four players under 19 years old. And after I made two changes we had six [under-19s]."
This doesn't come as a total shock to me.
Slot proceeded to argue that Liverpool's roster isn't equipped for the demands of competing on weekends and during midweek.
"I witnessed some of the difficulties that players experienced during preseason and those who arrived from different leagues," the Dutch manager lamented. "It represents a fresh challenge for them to compete at Premier League and Champions League standard, three matches in seven days." Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Hugo Ekitiké all participated in European tournaments just last season, while six members of Liverpool's current roster have previously claimed Champions League glory.
"Additionally, this club has traditionally utilized this tournament for their youth academy players," Slot added in a frantic effort to justify his position. "So for the non-regular starters and the academy prospects, this seemed like the appropriate choice to me."
To further defend his controversial decisions, Slot referenced the injuries Liverpool have already endured.
"Previously when I fielded a player who wasn't completely ready—we believed he was prepared but it was his first opportunity—[Alexander] Isak suffered an injury. Last time we played Southampton [Giovanni] Leoni got hurt and Hugo Ekitiké received a red card. These are situations we cannot afford with an important week ahead," he explained to Sky Sports.
"People suddenly assume we have 25 available players. But we primarily have 20 players and then four injuries. I only have one right-back, Conor Bradley, as an illustration. Every occasion I had to use him twice in three days or three times in seven days [last season] I had to substitute him with a hamstring problem or another issue.
"Are you prepared to accept that risk with such a crucial week approaching?"
Liverpool welcomes a rejuvenated Aston Villa on Saturday night before facing Real Madrid next Tuesday in a massive Champions League showdown. It will be a vastly different starting eleven for both encounters but, as Slot perhaps imprudently emphasized, Liverpool's preferred XI have also found it difficult to secure victories recently.