Head coach Arne Slot revealed the tactical and fitness reasons behind each of his substitutions as Liverpool kicked off their Premier League campaign in style with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth at Anfield.
Summer arrivals Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike all made their competitive Anfield debuts. Alexis Mac Allister also started as the Reds took charge early, with Ekitike netting the opener.
However, all five were replaced in the second half as Slot carefully managed his squad.
“Not only the pace of the league, Jeremie felt his hamstring a little bit so that’s a risk – especially if the other full-back Conor Bradley is already out with an injury,” Slot detailed the decisions after the match.
“With Joe Gomez only training twice, I didn’t feel he could already play half [an hour] in this intensity, so I started off with Wata [Endo] in that position, knowing that I could always bring Joe maybe later on for 10, 15, 20 minutes.
“Milos Kerkez plays every duel as if his life depends on it, which is a great quality, but if you play against such a good winger like [Antoine] Semenyo when you’re already on one yellow card, it’s a risk – especially knowing that we have [Andy] Robertson as well, so that’s explained in that sense.”
He added: “Hugo Ekitike came later in pre-season, comes from a good team but I don’t think you can compare that with Liverpool and you can’t compare the league. So for him to already be able to play 70 is a big, big, big bonus for us – but 90 is a risk.
“The other substitution was Macca, who has been out for two, two-and-a-half months [and] only in training for two-and-a-half weeks, so not able to play 90 yet.
“And the other one was Florian in the end, that was simply because I wanted to bring a No.9 in because we were 2-2.”
Liverpool’s opener sets the tone for Slot’s tenure. The victory not only brought goals but also showed his willingness to adapt and protect his players.
With a long season ahead, Slot’s substitutions already underline a careful balance of fitness, risk management, and tactical sharpness.
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