Trent Alexander-Arnold was one of three players to drop to the bench for the midweek trip to Newcastle, with Arne Slot explaining his decision to leave out Liverpool’s No. 66.
Liverpool’s team sheet on Wednesday night landed with news of the right-back being among the substitutes, with Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez selected in the backline.
It was not a complete surprise, with Slot having kept it no secret that Alexander-Arnold needs to be managed on his injury return and in light of the injuries in defence.
Confirmed Liverpool lineup vs. Newcastle: 3 changes
The No. 66 was withdrawn in the 73rd minute on Sunday in his first game back from a hamstring injury, and Slot has now explained why another start did not come his way three days later.
He explained to Prime Video: “Trent has a lot to do with us being aware of the fact we only have five defenders left in a month we play eight games.
“Him being back from a hamstring injury, two days after the City game, which was so intense. It wouldn’t be smart, in my opinion, to play him again, for the long term.”
Definitely a smart decision!
Slot spoke on the eve of the match that “we have to be creative” when Alexander-Arnold cannot be used from the start, and currently that responsibility falls on Gomez and Quansah.
With Conor Bradley sidelined until the New Year, there is even scope for that creativity to extend to a midfielder – but time will tell on that one!
On his other two changes, which saw Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez replace Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Diaz, Slot added: “We have many good players available and I think if you looked at Lucho and Dom, they had an incredible effort on Sunday.
“If you then have the likes of Curtis and Darwin, we thought it was necessary to bring in some fresh legs as well.”
In other news, while the first team face Newcastle in the Premier League, Federico Chiesa made a big step towards his return having been named in the starting lineup for Liverpool U21s vs. FC Nordsjaelland.
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