2 hours ago
2
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has explained his team selection for the Merseyside derby with Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak dropping to the bench for the Reds' game with Everton.
"Normally when you don't play a player I don't think there is any player that says, 'Ok I understand your decision', ok maybe they understand it but they may have made a different one themselves," Slot told TNT Sports when he was asked about Isak.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you ask him today that he would say it's the best choice for him not to start, but of course it is about match fitness. It was good to see him play for an hour in midweek, let's see how many minutes he can make today."
On Wirtz being on the bench, Slot added: "The same thinking as Mac Allister on the bench against Atletico. Like I said it's three games in seven days, not in eight days.
"This is Sunday, Wednesday then Saturday. This is one of the most intense games that we have to play, so we try to manage it during Burnley and Atletico.
"For today I think Szoboszlai, who played both of those games as well, is more used to the intensity of the Premier League and this programme than Florian is coming from Germany.
"So it's only to do with so many games in limited time. I think he will feature, but not from the start."
There was only a short turnaround between this fixture and the last one, against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. And Slot says that impacted his thinking as well.
"That was not only the thinking for today, that also happened in midweek," he said.
"Against Atletico you didn't see Mac Allister or Bradley, two players that didn't have the best pre-season, so we knew from the start, three games in seven days, with the third one being the most intense.
"We needed players that were going to be ready for this game and going to be fit enough for the intensity of the game from the start. That is what we tried to do throughout every line-up we have made against Burnley and Atletico for us to be ready for this game."
English (US) ·