Arne Slot says he is protecting his squad for the key months ahead as tomorrow’s Champions League game with PSV Eindhoven has “no importance to the league table”.
The head coach has left most of his first-team players at home as Liverpool have already qualified for the last 16 and are guaranteed to finish in the top two positions.
Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz have not travelled and will be given a day of rest on Wednesday before returning to train early on Thursday morning.
“It took me some time to understand this new format but now I can say that I’m 100 per cent sure that it doesn’t matter if we finish first or second because we will play the team in 14, 15, 16 or 17, then it is a draw of which team we will face,” Slot says. “We cannot drop to number three so this is a game for us that has no importance to the league table.
“But a very wise man said to me that he’s never seen anything good from losing a football game so we will do everything we can to try and win it.”
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Slot has worked closely with his staff to decide which players need a rest ahead of a continued busy period.
He decided to take Cody Gakpo along as he wanted to give him the opportunity to face his former side, who he joined Liverpool from two years ago.
“These players are ready and all the players who were left behind could have played tomorrow,” he says.
“But in the long-term — so it doesn’t tell us anything about Saturday’s game — if you look back at our season, after four or five weeks, we gave them a break during the week if there was a moment to give them one. We’ve always done it to keep them fresh.
“Also, because we mainly start with 13 or 14 players who have shared most of the playing time, some of the others haven’t played a lot.
“It’s very useful for the other players to now get 90 minutes because if we do get into any injury problems, it will be useful to have these players. It’s a choice we have made for the long term.”
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(Robin van Lonkhuijsen/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
Arne Slot says he is making ‘choice for the long-term’ in resting Liverpool regulars for PSV clash
Arne Slot, the head coach of Liverpool, has made the bold decision to rest several key players for their upcoming clash against PSV. Slot has stated that he is making this choice with the long-term success of the team in mind, as he believes that giving some of his regular starters a break will benefit the team in the long run.
While some fans may be concerned about the impact of resting key players in such an important match, Slot is confident in his decision and believes that the squad has the depth and quality to still perform well against PSV. He emphasized that he is looking at the bigger picture and wants to ensure that his players are fresh and fit for the challenges ahead.
Slot’s decision to rest players for the PSV clash may raise some eyebrows, but his focus on the long-term success of the team is commendable. It will be interesting to see how the squad performs without some of their regular starters, but Slot’s commitment to making decisions that benefit the team in the long run is certainly a positive sign for Liverpool fans.
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Arne Slot, PSV, Liverpool, rest, choice for the long-term, squad rotation, Champions League, football, soccer, match lineup, player management, tactical decision
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