Arne Slot defends ‘unlucky’ Liverpool star with an ‘issue’; one ‘expected’ starter vs Brighton named
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has moved to defend one of his “unlucky” players, while a report has revealed who will start at left-back against Brighton.
Under Slot, Liverpool have made a superb start to the 2024/25 campaign as they have seven wins, one draw and one loss from their opening nine Premier League games.
After last Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal, second-placed Liverpool are one point adrift of table-toppers Manchester City. The Reds are also flying high in the Champions League as they have won their opening three group matches.
In midweek, Liverpool narrowly beat Brighton 3-2 to advance in the Carabao Cup and they face the Seagulls at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Most of Liverpool’s players have been in fine form this season, but experienced left-back Andy Robertson has struggled and he’s been rotated with Kostas Tsimikas.
In the Carabao Cup, Robertson started at left-back and according to The Athletic, Tsimikas is ‘expected to start Saturday’s Premier League clash with the same opponents at Anfield’.
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Speaking ahead of Saturday’s match, Slot claimed Liverpool’s left-back situation is not a “dilemma”.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a dilemma,” Slot said. “There have been other positions we have rotated — the left wing, in the midfield and the No 9 position.
“It probably has to do with Robbo’s pre-season. He had no pre-season because he came back injured from the Euros.
“Kostas did really well in that period. It has do with the quality Kostas brings in that position, but it’s also to do with Robbo missing pre-season so that’s why we started rotating from the start a bit.
“If a player didn’t have any pre-season, there was no time to bring him to a situation where he could play three games in a row. We try to build up our players for that programme and for him, it was difficult because he missed out on pre-season where others were there.
“That’s his situation and it was good for him to play against Arsenal and Brighton in the week to make sure he’s getting into that rhythm of playing twice a week.”
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Slot has also defended Jarell Quansah after he was criticised for his performance against Brighton in midweek.
Quansah enjoyed a breakout season in 2023/24. Despite this, he has slipped down the pecking order at the start of this campaign as Slot has preferred Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
Slot said: “I think Jarell played a very good game.
“The only issue he has at the moment is that if he has a moment that is not perfect, it immediately leads to a goal. In my opinion he was unlucky.
“He has already shown in the past that he can play a game without these small mistakes. If you look at his overall performance, I really liked what I saw.”
