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Tom Hamilton, Senior Writer
Liverpool will face tougher challenges in the next two months than this trip to Selhurst Park. However, a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace proved that Arne Slot can rotate teams and still score important wins, even finishing the game against debutant Viteslav. Jaros scores a goal.
As any Feyenoord supporter will know, Slot prefers to stick to a stable side each game and make as few changes as possible. But in a lunchtime kick-off that came just two-and-a-half days after their 2-0 Champions League win over Bologna, Slot was on hand and his Liverpool side still managed to produce a good result.
Slot made four changes from the side that beat Bologna in midweek, with Kostas Tsimikas, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo all starting, while Andrew Robertson, Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez and Dominik Szoboszlai were dropped. Excluding the numerous changes he made against West Ham in the Carabao Cup, this matches the most changes he has made from one game to the next.
His policy of sticking to preferred line-ups was criticized after his team performed poorly in a 1-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest three weeks ago. This was the first game since the international break, and 10 of the 11 starting pitchers have played both games for their respective national teams around the world. The week after the defeat, he pointed to his remarkable record, saying: “If rotation is the reason why you don’t win games, it probably won’t be the first game you lose at Feyenoord in 2024. We haven’t rotated much.”
Feyenoord used the second-fewest players (25) in the Eredivisie during the 2023-24 season and ranked 11th out of 18 teams in the Dutch league in total replacements of the starting team. But Slot mixed things up here at Selhurst Park and the effect was a seamless transition from one win to the next, leaving Liverpool top of the league for at least a few hours and in a strong position ahead of the second international break.
Liverpool dominated possession, with 68.1% of the ball, and Jota scored the only goal of the game after eight minutes. Palace looked vulnerable down the wing and that proved to be their undoing as Gakpo found space behind Daniel Muñoz and teed up the Portugal international. However, this still fell short of the pre-match demands of a ruthless, all-dominant performance slot, as slots had to be three or four by half-time. Slott wants his team to put their foot on their opponent’s neck from the start and keep the pressure on.
But this match may have come at a cost. Alexis Mac Allister was substituted at the break and Alisson Becker picked up another injury while making a clearance 11 minutes earlier. Caoimhin Kelleher, who suffered another injury in the 3-0 win over Bournemouth for the Brazil number two weeks ago, is an able substitute but was ruled out on Saturday due to illness. In Alisson’s place came the unknown Jaros, who made his Liverpool debut at the age of 23 after seven years at the club.
Jaros, who previously spent time on loan at St Patrick’s Athletic, Notts County and Stockport County, last played for SK Sturm Graz in May. He made 14 appearances for the Austrian club in the second half of last season, helping them win the Bundesliga, and made his first full cap for the Czech Republic in the summer. He is not just an inexperienced goalkeeper seeking attention. He ended up doing what was needed, but with a tougher task ahead, Liverpool will be hoping they can use either Alisson or Kelleher.
Now we will find out what the slot is made of and a true understanding of its durability after a very promising start. Chelsea (home), Arsenal (won), Brighton & Hove Albion (home), Aston Villa (home), Southampton (home), Manchester City (home), Newcastle United (won), Everton (won) It is ranked next. In addition to the Champions League, the Premier League hosts RB Leipzig and at home matches against Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid. This will test the depth of Slot’s team, and he may have to get used to shuffling his pack more.
The game also showed Liverpool are prepared to relish a Saturday lunchtime kick-off, something Klopp has made clear he despises. Liverpool have won 2 and lost 2 on Saturdays earlier this season, and Slott said before the game: “If 12:30 is a difficult time to play, then I’m a really stupid coach, because we train at 12 every day.” He doesn’t seem like a manager who is keen to criticize the system or schedule.
For Palace, this was another game that got past them. They finished last season admirably with 7 wins and 6 losses, and are winless after their opening seven games. Manager Oliver Glasner has had to build a new team here after losing Joachim Andersen, Michael Olise and Jordan Ayew in the summer and signing Trevor Chalobah, Maxence Lacroix and Eddie Nketiah on transfer deadline day. They still have a mixed understanding, but with boos echoing at full-time, it is yet to be seen how much patience the board will have for this to be reversed.
