Slot Defends Team Rotation After Liverpool’s League Cup Exit to Crystal Palace
To add insult to injury for the visitors, teenager Amara Nallo was handed a red card late in the match, adding to their despair.
Spoke following the match, Slot accepted the result was not typical of Liverpool but stood by his decision to field a team based on functional necessity. Photo/courtesy
By Ruth Sang
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has come in defense of his rotationally playing heavily after their 3-0 defeat by Crystal Palace in the League Cup on Wednesday night — a result which further worsened the Reds’ recent misfortunes. Premier League title winners, in the midst of one of their worst recent spells of form, have now lost six of their last seven games in all competitions, including their previous four league matches.
The Dutch manager substituted his ten first-choice starters for the trip to Selhurst Park with the choice of resting stars such as captain Virgil van Dijk and top scorer Mohamed Salah. The young and inexperienced team struggled to cope with Palace’s cohesion and intensity, and the home side controlled the game from kickoff.
Ismaila Sarr scored midway through the first half before scoring twice just before the interval. Any thoughts of a Liverpool resurrection were shattered in injury time when Yeremy Pino snapped into a defensive breach to put Palace in unassailable command. To add insult to injury for the visitors, teenager Amara Nallo was handed a red card late in the match, adding to their despair.
Spoke following the match, Slot accepted the result was not typical of Liverpool but stood by his decision to field a team based on functional necessity. “Of course, it is not at Liverpool level to lose six out of seven games,” he admitted. “But taking a glance at the schedule we have in front of us, I had to make a decision. We have a brutally difficult week ahead, and I could not compromise my first-teamers’ physical condition.”.
The Reds welcome the must-win Premier League match against in-flight Aston Villa on Saturday, with the lofty Champions League tie against Real Madrid at Anfield on Tuesday. They will then just days later welcome reigning champions Manchester City on November 9.
“I had to think about the bigger picture,” Slot said. “With just 15 or 16 senior players who are available for selection, I had to take care of them. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I think I made the correct choice.”
For Crystal Palace, not only did the win cement their dominance over Liverpool this season — having beaten them three times already — but also earn them a place in the League Cup quarter-finals. Their path to further glory, however, will not be easy, as they have been drawn against Arsenal in the next round.
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