Arne Slot hits back at criticism over team selection against Crystal Palace

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has hit back at his critics for his team selection against Crystal Palace on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup fixture, losing his sixth game in a row out of seven games.

Liverpool once again lost horrendously in a 3-0 scalp against the same Oliver Glasner side that triumphed over the Premier League champions in the FA Community Shield for the first time after beating Slot’s side 3-2 on penalties.

The Reds were kicked out of the fourth round of the competition, where just a few members of the first team were involved, and multiple players played out of their natural position as Slot made 10 changes to his starting XI ahead of what the Dutchman called a “big week”.

Speaking to Sky Sports at the full-time whistle, Slot stated he had no alternative but to give opportunities to youth and fringe players ahead of a demanding week for his team.

He indicated that it would have been a “stupid choice” if a first-team regular had picked up an injury in the cup tie.

“Everybody can have [their] opinion about it but with the squad we have – maybe 15, 16 first-team players available – this is the choice I’ve made,” Slot told Sky Sports.

But he conceded: “It’s not of Liverpool’s standards to lose five out of six, or six out of seven.”

“Last time we played Southampton here in the League Cup, Giovanni Leoni got injured, and we don’t have such a big squad as people might tell, because there was so much focus on the amount of money we spent [in the summer].

“People all of a sudden think we have 25 players available, but we mainly have 20 players then we have four injuries.

“I only have one right full-back, Conor Bradley, as an example, and every time I had to play him twice in three days or three times in seven days [last season], it led to him… that I had to take him off with a hamstring injury or something else.

“Are you willing to take that risk with such a big week coming up? Last time I played a player that wasn’t fully prepared – we thought he was prepared, but it was the first time – Alexander Isak, he got injured.”

The Reds face Aston Villa, Real Madrid, and Manchester City within the space of eight days as they look to get their season quickly back on track.

A sixth defeat in seven games has only worsened the mood at the club, following the Eagles’ commanding three-goal victory at Anfield.

In hindsight, Slot was painstakingly trying to avoid a situation that had happened previously when they lost two first-team players through injury and a red card against Southampton the last time.

“Last time we played Southampton Leoni was injured and it was a red card for Hugo Ekitike. Those are the things we can’t use with a big week coming up,” he added.

“But there’s always a choice. What if I had played Virgil [van Dijk] and Ibou [Konate], for example, if one of them got injured people would have said, ‘what a stupid choice’.

“And also with them [the first-team players] it was very difficult for us, for our starters to beat Palace because it’s not the first time we lose against them.”