After raising concerns about the depth of his Liverpool squad when comparing them to Man City and Chelsea in midweek, Arne Slot insists he is “completely happy”.
Speaking after the 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup – for which he made 10 changes and filled his bench with academy players – Slot claimed Liverpool were not in the same position as Man City or Chelsea.
He said that despite making 10 changes for the 3-1 win over Swansea, Man City “felt like they were playing with 11 starters”, while Chelsea for their 2-1 win over the Reds earlier this month “missed eight but were still able to bring in Estevao.”
That was understandably seen as a complaint about the depth of his Liverpool squad, but when asked to clarify his position on Friday, Slot insisted: “We are not missing anything.
“I’m glad you asked this question: I’m completely happy with the team, with all the quality we have.
“I am also completely convinced of the strategy and policy that we are pursuing.
“But the ‘problem’, if you could talk about a problem, is that not all of them have had a good preparation or have been injured during the season.
“So if three or four are injured, you go back to 16 players. I firmly believe that 20, 21 players are enough, but you have to keep them fit, just like last season.”
Alisson, Giovanni Leoni, Jeremy Frimpong, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones, Stefan Bajcetic, Alexander Isak and Jayden Danns were all ruled out on Wednesday evening.
Finally, the will of the decision to rest Girirgi Mamardashvili, Kirgil van Dijk Dijk, Korama Kora.
That, he continued, came with fitness in mind, knowing Liverpool were in a far from ideal position after a summer full of big changes and tragic losses.
“We’re having a bit more trouble keeping them fit, for what I think are obvious reasons,” he explained.
“Alex is a good example of that, I think he came to us on September 1. A few others have missed the preparation, a few others have had injuries in the preparation.
“So it was more difficult than last season to keep them all available. And if a few are not available, it comes down to a lot of the same players.
“Maybe we were more lucky last season and now we are a bit more unlucky.
“Again, no excuses for our results before people say this again, but we have had to play a lot of away games with only two days’ rest in between.
“And that would have been a difficult schedule for any player last season, and I mean a player who has been fit all pre-season and all season, but that has not been our situation.
“Then I think you’ll have to make it, because it will be three again next week [games] within seven or eight days.
“So that has nothing to do with the depth of the squad, it has to do with how we have gone through the season in terms of injuries and availability, and players being available to play two games in three days each time.”
Finally, Gravenberch can welcome back from his ankle injury for the visit of Aston Villa on Saturday, while he hopes for positive news on Jones and Isak next week when his side take on Real Madrid and Man City.
Per The AthleticsAlthough Liverpool have used more players in all competitions so far this season than any other Premier League team (32), Slot’s comments about the availability of his regular starters are accurate.
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