Arne Slot admits he will face criticism no matter what approach he takes to squad rotation, after Ibrahima Konate limped off with a hamstring injury during Liverpool’s dramatic 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
The Reds suffered their third loss in eight days at Stamford Bridge, conceding a stoppage-time winner in the fifth minute of added time as substitute Estevao Willian slid in at the far post to score his first goal for the Blues.
The defeat saw the champions relinquish top spot in the Premier League for the first time since August.
Slot recalled Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister and Alexander Isak to the starting XI after resting them for Wednesday’s Champions League loss to Galatasaray in Istanbul.
However, it was at the back where he was forced into changes, replacing the injured Konate with Curtis Jones in the 56th minute.
In a frenetic clash in west London, Chelsea, despite missing eight players through injury and suspension, pressed relentlessly in the first half and opened the scoring through a stunning long-range strike from Moises Caicedo.
Liverpool responded in the second half, growing in confidence after Cody Gakpo capitalised on Isak’s clever flick-on to level the game.
Slot’s side pushed for a winner but were undone late on when Marc Cucurella broke down the left and delivered a low cross for 18-year-old Brazilian Estevao to slide home, sealing a dramatic victory for Chelsea and sparking wild celebrations.
“If I rotate against Galatasaray people complain that I rotate,” said Arne Slot.
“It is a risk playing Konate (against Chelsea), he’s played three games in eight days with a four-hour flight up and down. That’s the balance you need to find.”
“If you play the style we play, a high press, and with the style Chelsea play with a high press, it would be a complete surprise if neither team ever played through the press,” said Slot.
“That would be unrealistic.
“We came to Stamford Bridge with them having eight injuries, we’re thinking this can be positive, they don’t have the options from the bench.
“But they did have a few good options from the bench to impact the game.”
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