Arne Slot has revealed Liverpool’s growing injury list as he warned the Reds are still to overcome their biggest test of the season.
The Reds remain a point clear at the top of the early Premier League table after a hard-earned 2-1 home win over fellow top-four contenders Chelsea
The win, though, came at a cost for Liverpool, who saw Diogo Jota forced off with a first-half injury that Slot expects will keep the striker out of Wednesday’s Champions League clash at RB Leipzig.
Conor Bradley is also facing a spell on the sidelines having picked up an injury following international duty with Northern Ireland
Trent Alexander-Arnold passed a late fitness test to play against Chelsea and Alexis Mac Allister was well enough only for the bench.
Slot said: “I have a lot of confidence in this team but you also saw today after the international break we had some problems.
“Conor Bradley is not in, Trent wasn’t training for the first few games when he came back (from England) so he was a bit of a doubt before the game.
“Then Macca was sick. Today Diogo had to be substituted, I don’t know what it is but I would be surprised if he’s there on Wednesday.
“These are all things everybody has and you have to cope with during the season as well.
“That’s why I always say it’s so difficult to win a league title no matter where in the world because so many things have to be done really, really good.
“This is a good start to win the second big game we have played, but I also saw how difficult it was, how difficult Chelsea made it for us.
“If I ewas sitting here as a Chelsea manager I’d be thinking if we can play like this at Anfield then we are also one of the teams that can compete for top-four position.”
The win over Chelsea was the first of seven games in 20 days in three competitions for Liverpool
Slot believes only after that raft of fixtures can a true picture be painted of what to expect from his team this season.
Slot
“It was mostly the media that told us Chelsea was our first big test,”
“I think if you go to Old Trafford against a very strong team like United that’s definitely a test as well.”
“I said on Friday, don’t judge us on this week, you have to judge us after these seven games, and that’s what I say after this win.
“Wednesday is Leipzig, then on Sunday it’s Arsenal, then it’s Brighton (in the League Cup) and Brighton and Leverkusen and Aston Villa.
"This is our biggest test, to play Champions League and Premier League, the hardest games, three days after each other, that’s what City did, that’s what Arsenal did for two years in a row now.
“You saw two years ago how difficult that was for us and you saw last season how difficult it was for United and Newcastle to be involved in the Champions League and Premier League.
“That is for me the test we have to go through to see if we can stay where we are now.”
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