Liverpool suffered their sixth loss in their last seven games across all competitions on Wednesday, being knocked out of the fourth round of the EFL Cup by Crystal Palace. Manager Arne Slot made the controversial decision to leave out key players including Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, and Alexander Isak from the matchday squad. The result was a heavy 3-0 defeat at Anfield as the Reds were thoroughly outplayed.
In the wake of the embarrassing loss, former Liverpool star Don Hutchison has pinned the blame squarely on Slot. The footballer-turned-pundit expressed sympathy for the young players who featured, saying they had little chance of winning due to the lack of experience around them.
Hutchison told ESPN FC:
“Even the staunchest Liverpool fan can’t be angry tonight because the group of young players that got sent out there, I really felt for them. The one thing you want when you’re a younger player is two or three experienced players around you. That team had no chance of beating Crystal Palace. It was one-way traffic from minute one.”
Labeling Slot’s team selection as a “rookie error,” Hutchison highlighted how Liverpool’s rivals opted for a balance of experienced and young players in their own fourth-round fixtures.
He added:
“It really was a rookie error from Arne Slot. When you look across the board tonight — Newcastle, Spurs, Arsenal, Man City, and Crystal Palace — they all played sides with four or five first-team regulars on the pitch and had three or four more on the bench. There were no first-team players to be seen on the Liverpool bench, so what chance did they have?”
The former Scotland international also dismissed suggestions that resting players was justified due to Liverpool’s busy schedule. He pointed out that Newcastle, Tottenham, Arsenal, and Manchester City are facing similar fixture congestion but still fielded stronger teams in their cup matches.
Hutchison concluded:
“It was awful [selection from Slot]. All the teams that play in the Champions League have three games this week — that’s not an excuse. I have no idea why he put that many youngsters in the starting XI, but the bench was even younger and it made no sense whatsoever. Liverpool fans will come out of that by being so frustrated at Slot, and he has to take the blame. It’s totally down to him. Slot has some big questions to answer.”
Liverpool were runners-up in the EFL Cup last season, having lost to Newcastle in the final at Wembley. With this exit, they have followed rivals Manchester United, who were eliminated in the previous round, out of the 2025/26 edition of the competition.
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### Arne Slot responds to criticism over Liverpool team selection after Crystal Palace loss
Despite mounting criticism over his decision to make 10 changes to the starting XI in Liverpool’s defeat to Crystal Palace, Slot has defended his approach.
The Dutchman pointed out that injuries have already depleted the squad this season and said he wanted to avoid repeating such setbacks.
Slot told reporters:
“People all of a sudden think we have 25 players available, but we mainly have 20 players and then four injuries. Last time I played a player that wasn’t fully prepared — we thought he was prepared, but it was the first time Alexander Isak played and he got injured.”
Slot also suggested that people would have criticized him regardless of the decision, saying:
“Last time we played Southampton, Leoni was injured and it was a red card for Hugo Ekitike. Those are the things we can’t use with a big week coming up. But there’s always a choice. What if I had played Virgil [van Dijk] and Ibou [Konate], for example, and one of them got injured? People would have said, ‘what a stupid choice’.”
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Liverpool now turn their attention to the Premier League, facing Aston Villa on Saturday at Anfield. Villa are currently enjoying a six-game unbeaten run in the league, making it another challenging fixture for the Reds as they seek to turn their fortunes around.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/news-it-made-sense-former-liverpool-midfielder-slams-arne-slot-awful-decision-efl-cup-exit-crystal-palace