Crystal Palace comfortably defeated an inexperienced Reds side 3-0 at Anfield in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, leaving Liverpool slumped to six defeats in seven games.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has dismissed criticism of Arne Slott, who was part of the rotation in the Carabao Cup. Slott made 10 changes to his squad for the fourth round at Anfield as Liverpool lost 3-0.
Liverpool started with three teenagers in the squad, but it was their third defeat at Palace this season, following defeats in the Community Shield and Premier League. After Amara Naro was sent off in the 79th minute, Ismaila Sarr scored twice in the first half, and Elemy Pino scored in the second half against 10 men.
The Reds have now lost six of their last seven games in all competitions, and Slott’s decision to go with such an inexperienced line-up on Wednesday drew widespread criticism. However, Glasner was quick to point out that there are still plenty of top players in the Liverpool side.
“We saw Arne Slott’s decision, but (calling it a weak team) is disrespectful to all of our players,” Glasner said. “I watched Joe Gomez win the Champions League and the Premier League with them and I watched Wataru Endo play a lot of games for Japan.
read more: The nightmare record of a young Liverpool player who received a red card in every first-team gameread more: Liverpool announce their stance on sacking Arne Slott after manager Jurgen Klopp makes clear his feelings
“I’ve seen Alexis Mac Allister win the World Cup with Argentina. I’ve seen[Milos]Kerkes cost £40 million. I’ve seen[Federico]Chiesa play for Italy. I think it’s disrespectful to say that. Every player who wears this[Liverpool]badge has quality.”
Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp accused Slott of choosing a team without having the confidence to deliver a win. “I can’t say he chose that team and the subs today thinking, ‘We’ll get a result against a really good Crystal Palace side,'” he said. “You might hope they can, but I never thought for a second that they could beat them and he made a mistake today.”
However, Slott defended his decision in the post-match press conference. “I felt it was the right decision and the loss doesn’t change my mind. The game against Brentford came two days after we played Eintracht Frankfurt away and we saw a team struggling to play three games in seven days, but that’s no excuse.”
“We’ve seen some players struggle in pre-season. Playing in the Premier League and Champions League with three games in seven days is a new challenge. Our team is probably not as big as people think. Our view on this hasn’t changed.”
The Dutchman is under increasing pressure following a dismal performance that saw him seven points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race. They have lost their last four league games ahead of Saturday night’s game against Aston Villa at Anfield.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£49
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
