13 hours ago
3
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says people shouldn't read too much into Wataru Endo dropping in alongside Andy Robertson and Joe Gomez to form a back three against Crystal Palace in the League Cup on Wednesday.
Slot's side looked more solid for a short time in the game before Ismaila Sarr scored twice before half-time. In the second period, Crystal Palace largely dominated, with Amara Nallo getting sent off and Yeremy Pino adding a third late goal.
With Liverpool having now lost six games out of seven, it might have been that Slot was experimenting with a change that perhaps could form a solution moving forward when the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate return to the team.
But the Reds boss was insistent in his post-match press conference that won't be the case, hinting that he didn't feel it was that big a change from the positioning that Ryan Gravenberch normally takes up.
"I got the same question a second ago," Slot said in his post-match press conference. "When we play teams that are playing 5-2-3, it has mostly been that Ryan then is taking the inverted left winger.
"So, then you're also defending with five. It is not for the first time that we build up with three players as well, so I wouldn't see too much into that."
Slot made 10 changes to his starting XI, with Kieran Morrison and Freddie Woodman making their debuts and Calvin Ramsay featuring at senior level for the first time in three years.
"I think Calvin had a very, very decent performance — calm on the ball," Slot said.
"I don't know if I said it over here but [in] the first half-hour, I think we had better chances than them, actually, and he was part of that. He played with composure.
"A decent-to-good game for him. And I said also afterwards, if you make your debut after a 3-0 loss, you might feel very, very disappointed.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
"But the two of you (Ramsay and Morrison) can be quite happy with the way you've played in your first time here at Anfield."
Liverpool has a big week coming up now with Aston Villa and Real Madrid coming to L4 and then a trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City.
Liverpool.com says: Playing three at the back isn't a long-term solution for the Reds as they simply don't have enough center-backs to make that work. In any case, changing some that drastically would not be a good sign this early into the new season and after such a big summer of transfers.
As for Ramsay, he did well defensively. He isn't likely to get many more chances now Liverpool is out of the League Cup, but might find himself on the bench a few times while Jeremie Frimpong is sidelined.
English (US) ·