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Arne Slot’s team selection has been questioned following Liverpool’s defeat to Crystal Palace - and, namely, his use of Florian Wirtz at Selhurst Park.
It was a day to forget for many of the Reds’ players in London as they fell to their first defeat this season. Despite another late goal from Federico Chiesa, Eddie Nketiah struck deep into stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win for Palace - much to Slot’s annoyance.
Although the Liverpool boss wasn’t happy with the amount of time allowed for the hosts to find their winner, he couldn’t have much complaint with the end result, with both he and Virgil van Dijk admitting Palace deserved their victory.
A number of the visitors’ players were out of sorts, especially during a first half in which Liverpool had Alisson Becker to thank for keeping the score at 1-0.
Slot, as expected, had made 10 changes from the Carabao Cup victory over Southampton in midweek, although it was his decision to play Wirtz on the left wing as opposed to Cody Gakpo that caught many people’s attention.
The experiment only lasted one half, though, with Gakpo introduced at the break and Wirtz moved centrally, resulting in a marked improvement from the Reds, and Slot’s tactics being questioned.
“This was against a Liverpool team who’d won five out of five, and people are saying they’re not quite at the level we would expect, and I would agree with that,” former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson told Sky Sports.
“I mean his team selection, Slot would be questionable in my opinion. No Gakpo on the left in the first half. It was so narrow.
“Florian Wirtz, unfortunately, at this moment in time, hasn’t got to the level that we expected, and I’m a big fan.
“He cost an awful lot of money. He’s still very, very young, and we know how demanding the Premier League can be. But it was just the fact that when I saw the team sheet and there was no Gakpo. They were so tight. It was so compact, and there was I mean, it was pretty easy for Crystal Palace to get down that right-hand side under Munoz.”
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Liverpool.com says: Slot has got more things right than wrong since his arrival at Anfield, but yesterday was a bit of a misstep with his selection.
You can understand why he did it. After all, Wirtz has played on the left wing before, and there were plenty of fans eager to see how he’d get on there when he arrived during the summer.
It just didn’t work against Palace, and as much he wasn’t helped by the rest of his teammates struggling, it was noticeable that Wirtz looked a lot better after the break when he moved centrally and had Gakpo on the wing. It’s an experiment you’d imagine won’t be repeated any time soon.
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