Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner hits out at 'disrespectful' Liverpool comment
Liverpool slumped to a sixth defeat in seven matches on Wednesday night as Crystal Palace eased past an inexperienced Reds XI 3-0 at Anfield in the Carabao Cup
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has dismissed the criticism of Arne Slot for fielding a rotated side in the Carabao Cup. Slot made 10 changes to his team for the fourth-round tie at Anfield as Liverpool slumped to a 3-0 defeat.
Liverpool started with three teenagers in their side and ended up losing to Palace for the third time this season, following defeats in the Community Shield and Premier League. Ismaila Sarr scored twice in the first half before Yeremy Pino made the result safe in the second half against 10 men after Amara Nallo was dismissed in the 79th minute.
The Reds have now lost six of their last seven games in all competitions and Slot’s decision to go with such an inexperienced line-up on Wednesday drew widespread criticism. However, Glasner was quick to point out that there were still plenty of top players in the Liverpool side.
“We saw Arne Slot’s decision and it is disrespectful to all their players [to say it was a weak team],” Glasner said. “I have seen Joe Gomez win the Champions League and the Premier League with them; I have seen Wataru Endo play a lot of games for Japan.
READ MORE: Liverpool youngster's nightmare record after red cards in every first-team gameREAD MORE: Liverpool's stance on sacking Arne Slot after Jurgen Klopp makes feelings clear“I have seen Alexis Mac Allister, he won the World Cup with Argentina; I have seen [Milos] Kerkez, who cost £40m; I have seen [Federico] Chiesa, who has played for Italy. I think it would be disrespectful if we say that. Everyone who wears this [Liverpool] badge has quality.”
Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp accused Slot of picking a side without confidence they would deliver a win. “You can't tell me he's picked that team today and those subs, thinking, 'That'll get me a result against a really good Crystal Palace side’,” he said. “You might hope you can, but I did not think for one second they could beat them and he has made a mistake today."
However, Slot defended his decision in his post-match news conference. He said: "It felt to me the right decision and I've not changed my opinion of that because we lost. Against Brentford it was two days after we played Eintracht Frankfurt away and I saw a team that is struggling to play three games in seven days, but it is not an excuse.
"I've seen the struggles some players have had in pre-season. It's a new challenge to play in the Premier League and Champions League, three games in seven days. Our squad is probably not as big as people think it is. There has not been a change in the way we look at this."
The Dutchman is under mounting pressure following a miserable run of form which has seen them fall seven points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race. They have lost their last four matches in the league ahead of their game against Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday night.
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