The Reds bowed out of the Carabao Cup after the Eagles handed them a thumping 3-0 defeat on Wednesday (10.29.25), and manager Slot has now said the defeat didn’t come as much of a shock due to Liverpool’s young squad.
Speaking after the match, he said: “I saw some of the struggles that the players have had in pre-season and players that came from different leagues. It is a new challenge for them to play at Premier League and Champions League level, three games in seven days.
“I think at this moment in time we have only 15 or 16 players available. I am talking about players from our squad that are available.
“To add to that, this club has always used this competition for their academy players as well. So for the non-starters and the academy players, this felt to me like the right decision.”
Slot had selected a youthful starting XI for the game, with the oldest being 21-year-old substitute Tommy Pilling.
Due to Liverpool’s young squad, Palace’s Ismaila Sarr, 27, was able to score two goals, with defeat being secured through a late strike from Yeremy Pino, 23.
The Reds’ Amara Nallo, 18, was also given his second red card in his second-ever appearance for Liverpool, but Slot still stands by his squad.
He said: “I haven’t changed my opinion on that after the result either, because with our starters we have not been able to win a lot from Palace either.
“If I look at our performance against Brentford, two days after we played Frankfurt away, I saw there a team that maybe struggled with playing three games in seven days.
“Again, [it is] not an excuse to lose that game of football, but it is not a complete surprise to me.”
Liverpool’s loss to Crystal Palace is the club’s sixth defeat in seven matches, having suffered a 2-1 loss to the Eagles a month prior in the Premier League.
Slot admitted Liverpool’s recent performance wasn’t good enough.
He said: “There are many reasons why we have lost five out of six or six out of seven. None of them are good enough to accept losing so many.
“I can come up with arguments or reasons, but none of them will be enough because at Liverpool, losing six out of seven is always too much.
“I can come up with arguments or reasons, but none of them will be enough to go to that standard.”
