‘I’ve never heard of anything like this’ – Hamann slams Slot over baffling Liverpool decision vs PSG | OneFootball

Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann was baffled by Arne Slot’s decision to start Alexander Isak in their 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, according to reports.

The Reds lost 4-0 on aggregate to the French champions to exit the Champions League on Wednesday night with Ousmane Dembele scoring both goals at Anfield.

It was a costly night for Liverpool with speculation that Hugo Ekitike could miss up to nine months with a suspected Achilles injury.

Isak made a surprise start against PSG as Slot rolled the dice in the hope that Liverpool could make an early breakthrough against the Parisiens.

However, Liverpool were forced into a half-time change as it became clear that the Sweden international was lacking the fitness and match sharpness to impact the match.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Liverpool head coach Slot insisted that Isak was “ready” to play but the plan was always to check on him after 45 minutes.

Slot said: “I said before the game that if you go to extra-time and he plays the second half and plays 45 minutes, there are only two minutes in between before extra time comes up for half an hour.

“I don’t think that was realistic. To play him for 45 minutes and see at half-time how he feels to add five to ten minutes to that, that was a possibility today.

“But because we already had to make the first substitution in the first half, I didn’t want to make the second substitution five minutes after half-time. That’s why I took him off at half-time.”

On his thinking behind the shock call to start Isak, the Liverpool boss continued: “He was twice close to a goal and that’s why you play a striker of his level.

“There was one header from a set-piece and one great run in behind [Willian] Pacho where he was really close to scoring which was eventually offside. It’s good to have him back.

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“He was ready and if I thought he wasn’t ready then I wouldn’t have played him.

“If you compare us today to last week, I think it’s fair to say he was completely ready to play otherwise you can’t play a first half as we did, although the second half was even better.”

But Hamann thought it was an odd decision to start Isak, rather than bringing him off the bench later in the match, and the former Liverpool midfielder insisted he has “never heard of anything like this” before.

Hamann told Sky Deutschland: “He hasn’t played for three months and then he comes up against the best team in Europe and suddenly he should play. And Slot doesn’t want to bring him on because he might not be able to play extra time…

“I have to be completely honest: I had the utmost respect for the man, but I’ve never heard of anything like this.

“I don’t know if something like this has ever happened before. Probably, but not in the Champions League.”