Arne Slot has said something Liverpool supporters won't agree with after avoiding nightmare scenario

Arne Slot has said something Liverpool supporters won't agree with after avoiding nightmare scenario

Arne Slot has reiterated his disappointment that Liverpool are not in FA Cup action this weekend - but Reds supporters can be forgiven if they do not agree

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot. (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images )

Having come through a run of five games in 15 days relatively unscathed, Liverpool are currently enjoying a free weekend after their premature FA Cup exit. The Reds suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle.

Arne Slot named a much-changed side for the trip to Home Park as Liverpool ultimately struggled before falling to a 1-0 defeat. Supporters found positives from such elimination though, given the fact that the Reds could enjoy two extra free weekends in March as a result.

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Slot feels differently of course. On more than one occasion he has insisted nothing good comes from losing a match.

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“There was a wise man that once said to me, 'Nothing good comes from losing a football game,' and I completely agree,” he said last month. “So, we definitely would have preferred to play six games in 18 days or seven in 21 or eight in 24, because that's the schedule we are in.

“Now with us losing this game there's one moment where we have a 'normal' week, but that's definitely not what we wanted when we went to Plymouth.”

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Slot would also rue Liverpool’s free weekend after beating Newcastle United in midweek, admitting he would rather have had the extra match to hand some of his lesser-used players some much-needed game-time.

“I'm still a bit disappointed that we don't play on the weekend,” he said. “Because, of course, Mo [Salah] wouldn't have played, of course Virgil [van Dijk] wouldn't have played but it would have been an ideal moment for the likes of Harvey Elliott, Jarell Quansah, Federico Chiesa and all the others to get some playing time as well to keep them ready for the end phase of the season.

“So, unfortunately we're out but that also means that the players have two days off now and then from Saturday onwards we fully focus on Paris Saint-Germain.”

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Slot might feel that way, but Liverpool supporters arguably don’t. While they might have come through their run of five games in 15 days actually extending their lead at the top of the Premier League, that came despite dropping points away at Everton and Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, they saw Cody Gakpo miss two games through injury and lost Conor Bradley to a hamstring issue. At least by not playing the additional game, the load has been lessened on the Reds squad.

And with Slot’s ranks only playing once in the Premier League in March, it gives the likes of Bradley an opportunity to return without missing much of the title run-in.

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It is understandable why supporters are anxious and cautious about the workload and possible injuries. Liverpool were badly stung by enforced absences at times throughout Jurgen Klopp’s reign.

They were without 13 first team players following their League Cup win last year before their title-challenge unravelled, while their title-defence in 2020/21 infamously came unstuck after losing all their centre-backs to season-ending injuries.

Meanwhile in 2021/22, when challenging for an unprecedented quadruple, Fabinho was struck down days before the FA Cup final before Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk suffered issues at Wembley. Thiago Alcantara would then pick up an injury himself on the eve of the Champions League final.

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By competing on all four fronts until the very end, Liverpool arguably suffered burn-out and it cost them on the final straight as they missed out on the Premier League title by a solitary point before losing 1-0 to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

Again competing for those two biggest prizes, supporters will happily throw in the towel early in the FA Cup if it bolsters their side’s chances to be crowned English and/or European champions come May.

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Then there is the identity of their would-be FA Cup fifth round opponents. Had Liverpool beaten Plymouth Argyle, they would have faced a second trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Man City in just six days.

The Reds would have been ball number 10 for the fifth round draw, the same as Plymouth Argyle, with the order that ties are drawn out of the bag for the previous round decided their allocated number going forward.

Slot might wish to be at the Etihad on Saturday evening but, with bigger prizes up for grabs, he must forgive us if such a sentiment is not shared by others of a Liverpool persuasion. Sorry Arne, you might be on your own on this one!

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