Liverpool manager Arn Slott saw his squad selection leaked ahead of Sunday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur, an issue that has previously sparked investigations at Manchester United and Chelsea. A post on social media platform X over the weekend claimed Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike will be absent from the Premier League game against Spurs at Anfield.
It was also widely circulated that Jeremy Frimpong, Kodi Gakpo and Rio Ngmoha would feature as a front three against Igor Tudor’s team. These posts were verified about an hour before kick-off, when details of the teams in the slot were revealed. Slot’s starting XI was also correctly posted online hours before Liverpool’s squad was announced.
However, the Dutchman’s changes did not pay off as Dominik Szoboszlai’s first-half free-kick was canceled out by Richarlison’s equalizer in the 90th minute, giving relegation-battling Tottenham a point back.
Sunday’s draw was a major setback to Liverpool’s top-four ambitions, but they remain fifth and are expected to be guaranteed a place in next season’s Champions League.
However, the departure of Slott’s team is likely to cause anxiety on Merseyside. Opponents Manchester United have frequently experienced similar difficulties and have launched an internal investigation to find out how Michael Carrick’s starting line-up against Manchester City in January was revealed online before kick-off.
Former Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho also addressed the issue at Old Trafford, openly acknowledging it when speaking at a press conference ahead of the 2018 FA Cup final. Ruben Amorim faced similar challenges before he was sacked in January.
Chelsea are another club that has experienced difficulties, with Blues head coach Liam Rosenior recognizing the possibility of a leak within the team before last week’s loss to Paris Saint-Germain and said he would “get to the bottom of it”.
The press had access to Chelsea’s starting XI and word got out by midday last Wednesday, eight hours before kick-off at the Parc des Princes. Chelsea then lost the first leg against Paris 2-5.
Slott did not comment directly on his team’s leaks, but admitted he did not blame Liverpool supporters for expressing their displeasure after the team were booed at Anfield on Sunday.
“I think it’s natural for the fans to be frustrated because we’ve seen so many times that the home team didn’t get the points they were hoping for and conceded at the last minute,” he said.
“It’s now up to me and the players to take that frustration to Wednesday night and put in a great performance because we’re all frustrated, that’s totally clear. It’s now up to me and the players to take that frustration to Wednesday night and give the fans the performance and result they deserve, because they’ve supported us all season.
“If it happens a lot of times that they get frustrated at the end of the game or after the final whistle, that’s completely understandable to me.”
