Didi Hamann says Arne Slot made 'mad' decision that cost Liverpool

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Liverpool was knocked out of the Champions League by PSG midweek and is looking to bounce back this weekend at Everton amid the race to make the top five spots in the standings

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.(Image: Molly Darlington/Getty Images)

Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann says Arne Slot made a costly mistake earlier this week that saw the Reds exit the Champions League at the hands of PSG.

Needing to come from two goals down after a first leg where a damage limitation plan only partially paid off — and more by luck than judgment — Liverpool went with Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike as a front two, with Mohamed Salah left on the bench.

Half an hour into the game, Ekitike went off with what we now know is a "serious" Achilles injury. Slot had said before the match kicked off that Isak would only be able to last the first 45 minutes as he continues to rebuild his fitness.

"I don’t like the look of Liverpool and obviously playing Isak in a game like this [didn't work]," Hamann said on talkSPORT.

"I was surprised when I saw he was playing, and then flabbergasted when I heard the explanation that he can only play a half.

"If you want to give him a chance and, more importantly, your team a chance, you bring him on with 10 or 15 minutes to go if you need a goal and give him a chance against tired defenders.

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

"But to start him when he’s clearly not fit against the best team in Europe at the moment, I think it was just mad."

Slot wanted to have as many goalscoring threats in the team from the start as possible. With Isak only able to play half the game, it was difficult to bring him on as a substitute because of the slim possibility of the 90 minutes being followed by extra time.

"You tell me to talk about Mo Salah, he’s been invisible since the start of the season," Emmanuel Petit said.

"You’re talking about Isak, who just came back, he’s the only good player who could have caused them problems. He was substituted."

With Ekitike now sidelined for a substantial period, Slot will need to make a decision on how much of Sunday's Merseyside derby Isak can feature in.

Cody Gakpo would be the obvious pick to come into the starting XI. He has played as a number nine several times this season because of a lack of other options and that could allow Rio Ngumoha to start on the left wing.

Liverpool.com says: Starting Isak was a decision that made sense in lots of ways. The Swede can grab a goal from nowhere and he wasn't going to last the full match. Just because the move didn't pay off, that doesn't mean it was never going to.