Arne Slot has hit back at his Liverpool critics following his first defeat as manager since taking over from Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season at the weekend, having registered three wins from three before the international break.
A toothless Anfield outfit struggled to break down a sturdy Nottingham Forest backline, before succumbing to a Callum Hudson-Odoi hammer-blow 20 minutes from time.
Slot had been criticised for naming an unchanged starting XI for the Forest loss, but in the build-up to Liverpool’s Champions League opener against AC Milan, the ex-Feyenoord coach has doubled down on his selection policy.
When asked if he should’ve rotated the starting XI more on the back of a demanding international break for his players, Slot commented: “If rotation would be the reason why you didn’t win a game, then last Saturday probably wouldn’t be the first game I lost in 2024.
“It’s too simple to put this loss on rotation, I think it was because too many players didn’t reach their normal level. The playing style of the opponent made it really difficult.”
He continued: “When you don’t win, you try and look at as many possible reasons why, but I preferred to look back at what we did well and what we didn’t do well. We could have done a lot better in things that were not related to rotation, but again it’s not possible to say what would have happened if I did rotate.
“Now I can do something about rotation in the upcoming games but before the weekend they were with the national team. For me this loss didn’t have anything to do with rotation, it was the opponent and too many players not bringing what they can bring.”
It wasn’t a particularly busy summer for the six-time European champions, with Federico Chiesa the only addition made to this year’s squad, but the Italian is yet to feature for Liverpool.
On the ex-Juventus star’s chances of starting against Milan on Tuesday night, Slot revealed: “I always like to bring in quality players and I think he’s a quality player that combines quality with an enormous work rate. Works hard without the ball and combines this with scoring goals, and he can play several positions.
“He is in our team selection for the first time, it would be a big surprise for everybody if he would start tomorrow. I don’t think you should expect that he will start but he should make a few minutes if we need him. He’s been training on his own at Juve for a long time, it’s too early for him to play 90 but hopefully he can make his first minutes in the upcoming fixtures.”
One of the players who could come in and out of the side this season, depending on fitness and form, is Dominik Szoboszlai, but Slot has urged the midfielder to add more goals to his game if he wishes to be a mainstay at Liverpool.
On the Hungarian, Slot said: “He has been important for us. He has been outstanding in his pressing game. Something that we have to work on with him is scoring goals and creating chances. His numbers need to go up but I am really happy with him and I’m sure his numbers will go up.”
And when asked about Szoboszlai’s midfield partner, Alexis Mac Allister, Slot added: “I took Mac Allister off around 60 minutes vs Forest, that had a lot to do with Argentina and injuries. I think he can play 60 or 90 minutes tomorrow, I will decide. He is an important player for us.”
Despite the weekend defeat, Tuesday’s Champions League opener at San Siro will likely be Liverpool’s toughest test of the season so far. The action gets underway in Milan at 8pm on Tuesday night.
