Arne Slot believes he is being given a welcome selection headache by Liverpool’s progress in the League Cup
A much-changed Reds continued their defence of the trophy with a hard-earned 3-2 fourth-round win at Premier League rivals Brighton on Wednesday evening.
Luis Diaz’s strike five minutes from time ultimately proved decisive
It set up a return to the South Coast in mid-December with Liverpool drawn against Southampton in the quarter-finals.
Slot made eight changes at Brighton from the team that drew 2-2 at Arsenal on Sunday, with Vitezslav Jaros handed a full debut in goal and Tyler Morton making his first start
Slot said:
“I am pleased with how we dealt with it. When you come here, you know it’ll be a difficult game because of their style of play and because of the recruitment they’ve had here over the last few years.
“To come away with a win was very pleasing for the long-term. I really liked what I saw from players who haven’t played that much this season yet, they were able to play in a similar style that we usually do and brought quality into the game.
“That makes it even harder for me to make line-ups in the upcoming weeks.”
With Darwin Nunez benched and Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa injured, Slot opted to play without a recognised striker with Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones the more advanced in a box midfield.
Slot commented
“I think they did well,”
“If you play those two without a nine you are always a bit worried that you have enough runs in behind the last line because these two like to play in midfield and make combinations there.
“What they did really well was combining trying to become an extra player in the midfield but not forgetting the deep runs as well. It helped that Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo were a constant threat in behind also.
“In general, I liked what I saw. I prefer to play with a number nine, but if they are not available – we had Darwin available but I don’t think it was good for him to start after playing three games and the upcoming schedule – this was the result of what we tried to come up with.
“The players did really well in my opinion.”
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