Arne Slot accused of 'letting Liverpool down' with 'complete nonsense' decision

Reds boss Arne Slot has been accused of "letting Liverpool down" with his team selection in the defeat to PSG in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on Tuesday night

Arne Slot has been slammed for his Liverpool team selection against PSG(Image: (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))

Arne Slot is under increasing pressure once again, with the Liverpool boss under fire for his team selection in the defeat to PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Reds went into the clash two goals down, with an uphill task in front of them to work their way into the final four of the competition. For such a colossal night at Anfield, Slot made five changes from the Liverpool side that beat Fulham 2-0 over the weekend, switching system once again to accommodate a front two of Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak.

There were some big calls, such as dropping Rio Ngumoha and Mohamed Salah, which ultimately didn't work as another two-goal triumph went the way of the French champions.

Given the mixing and matching that Slot has done with his lineup in recent weeks, he has come under scrutiny once again, particularly with the decision to start Isak, who doesn't look up to speed after recently returning from injury.

French football expert Julien Laurens slammed the Liverpool manager when he spoke on BBC Radio 5 Live and said: "That line-up to start was complete nonsense.

"That second half should have been how Liverpool started this game tonight to get the crowd going. It should not have been Alexander Isak to start.

Liverpool's starting lineup has been questioned against PSG(Image: (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))

“Arne Slot made errors in that first leg in his line-up in the way they set up. Tonight he cannot get it wrong. Tonight is not the night to get it wrong. He had to get it right from the beginning. Again, for me, he let the club down, the team down and the fans down.”

Ultimately, it was a decision that didn't pay off for Liverpool, as Slot faces increasing questions over his future in the dugout at Anfield and whether he is the right choice in the long-term.

One of the main concerns surrounded the use of Isak, who has only recently returned from a fracture in his leg that saw him out of action for a considerable amount of time.

On the call itself, Slot explained: "I said before the game, if you go to extra-time and he plays in the second half and plays 45 minutes there is only two minutes in between before extra-time comes up for half an hour and I don't think that was realistic.

"But to play him 45 and let's see at half-time how he feels to add five to ten minutes to that, that was a possibility for today. But because we already had to make the first substitution [Hugo Ekitike] in the first half, I didn't want to make the second substitution five or 10 minutes after half-time – that's why I took him off at half-time.

"He was twice close to a goal and that's why you play a striker of his level – there was one header from a set-piece and there was one great run in behind [Willian] Pacho, which he was really close to scoring but eventually was offside.

"It is good to see and to have him back. I think he was ready and if I thought he wasn't ready then I wouldn't have played him. I think if you compare us today to last week, I think it is fair to say he was completely ready to play, otherwise you can't play the first half as we did, although the second half was even better."

It remains to be seen whether Isak can kick on for the rest of the season, following a slow start to life in Merseyside, especially with the long injury absence of Ekitike coming up.