Arne Slot praises much-derided Liverpool duo for one ‘great’ thing they did at Anfield last night | OneFootball

Arne Slot singled out two Liverpool players for praise last night, even though they weren’t actually on the pitch for the Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace.

A number of first-team regulars were given the night off in favour of squad players and academy gems, with Dominik Szoboszlai, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate among those omitted from a matchday selection which was heavily criticised by Jamie Redknapp.

One of the youngers to feature at Anfield was Amara Nallo, but on just his second senior appearance, he was sent off within 12 minutes of coming onto the pitch, with the captain going down the tunnel to console him afterwards.

Slot praises Van Dijk and Konate for consoling Nallo

In his post-match press conference, Slot was asked if there was ‘anything he can say’ to the teenage defender after that setback, and the head coach pointed out that our regular centre-back duo had already been proactive in that regard.

The 47-year-old replied (via liverpoolfc.com): “I didn’t need to say that much. Another thing which I liked – it’s not the most important thing – but Ibou and Virgil immediately went inside to talk to him.

“That tells me that they are great human beings in a moment like this when a young player for the second time is being sent off – maybe the first time after he played against PSV [Eindhoven], I’m not 100% sure, but I think he did – that they feel how difficult that moment for him is, to go inside and be supportive for him.

“It wasn’t needed that I took care of him. These two already took care of him.”

(Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)

An admirable act from Van Dijk and Konate

Both of Nallo’s senior Liverpool appearances so far have followed the same plot line – on as a second-half substitute, only to be sent off just a few minutes later for denying a goalscoring opportunity, with the same happening on his debut against PSV in the Champions League last season.

We don’t doubt that the 18-year-old was devastated at history repeating itself last night, but he need not feel that he let his team down as the collective performance simply wasn’t good enough and, in all honesty, the game was over as a contest when he was dismissed in the 79th minute.

Van Dijk and Konate have both been castigated for their performances this season, with Alan Shearer saying that they’ve been ‘terrible‘, but they deserve credit for putting an arm around the teenager’s shoulder after his dismissal against Palace.

Nallo will have greatly appreciated the consoling words from the senior duo, who Slot rightly praised for that act, and the young defender will learn from that experience. If he’s being trusted to play for Liverpool’s first team at his age – irrespective of the fixture – he clearly has plenty of natural talent.

As for our first-choice centre-back duo, hopefully their commendable deeds at Anfield last night will be backed up by more convincing performances on the pitch, with neither playing anywhere near their best in recent weeks.