Jamie Carragher left with egg on his face after questioning 'strange' Arne Slot decision

Jamie Carragher was left with egg on his face after he questioned Arne Slot's decision to withdraw Florian Wirtz following Bournemouth's equalizer against Liverpool on Friday.

Liverpool looked to be cruising to a victory after Hugo Ekitike and Cody Gakpo put the Reds two goals in front, but a brace by Antoine Semenyo pulled the visiting side level.

Slot's response to Semenyo's second goal was to bring Wirtz off and replace him with Federico Chiesa, whose Liverpool career is yet to get going. “I think that’s a strange substitution, that," Carragher said on co-commentary for Sky Sports. "Very strange.”

Chiesa went on to score in the 88th minute — his first-ever Premier League goal — to restore the Reds' lead, before Mohamed Salah rubber-stamped the victory deep into stoppage time.

Acknowledging Slot's substitution had paid off, Carragher said: "I said it was a strange substitution earlier. And that's why I'm a pundit and that's why Arne Slot is a manager making those decisions. He's knows best!"

Speaking after the game, Slot paid tribute to Diogo Jota, after Liverpool's first home Premier League game since the Portugal international's death last month.

"Normally at 2-2 everyone knows which player I look to at that moment in time," Slot said about Jota, who scored vital goals off the bench against Fulham and Nottingham Forest last term.

"I would have loved to bring in Diogo Jota, but I could not for terrible reasons. But tonight the fans and the players did what he did for us many times in the past."

Match-winner Chiesa also credited Jota in a post-game interview, saying: "[The goal] was a great moment for me, but my thoughts go to Diogo.

"I think for what we have seen it was his day. The feeling that the fans gave me, chanting his song all the way through the match. It was very emotional, very emotional for me. I have to say that after the goal my thoughts went to his family, his brother Andre. That's the only thing I could say.

"At the end of the day we have to focus on the football. We wanted to win today. It was a difficult match, we went 2-0 up and then they came back, but we showed why we are champions.

"Of course Diogo would have helped us a lot but unfortunately he was somewhere else and he helped us in another way."

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