Arne Slot sees positives after Liverpool ‘make a game out of it’ against PSV | OneFootball

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was happy to take the positives from his weakened side’s “eventful” 3-2 defeat against PSV Eindhoven which saw them drop their first points in the Champions League.

With nine first-teamers left at home with one eye on the Premier League leaders’ weekend trip to Bournemouth, the team fielded in the Netherlands could be described as second-string at best.

Goals from Cody Gakpo, on his return to his former club, and Harvey Elliott had given the visitors a 2-1 lead but two efforts in the final five minutes of the first half saw PSV register their first win over Liverpool.

But Federico Chiesa’s first 90 minutes since June, Jayden Danns’ Champions League debut after becoming the club’s youngest starter in the competition aged 19 years and 13 days, and 20-year-old James McConnell impressing in midfield were some of the highlights.

“Like expected I think, eventful game with many goals,” said Slot, whose side still finished top of the table.

“Both teams, maybe mainly ours, were not playing in the set-up that we usually do so then you see in some moments that we defend in a way that probably is not expected if we play with all of our starters.

“But still in the end we were able to definitely make a game out of it, especially with all these youngsters on the pitch. So, ‘eventful’ would be my word to use.”

Chiesa won the penalty from which Gakpo scored and it was his shot from which Elliott netted a rebound as the Italy international finally got a chance to display his full range after a fitness-plagued start since arriving from Juventus in the summer.

“We had quite a lot of players that were not used to playing so many minutes in the last six or seven months so it’s especially important they were able to keep competing during 90 minutes,” added Slot.

We were able to definitely make a game out of it, especially with all these youngsters on the pitch. So, ‘eventful’ would be my word to use

Arne Slot

“OK, Jayden couldn’t manage to play the whole game, but Federico in the end was still sprinting, trying to do his work. So, positive.”

On McConnell, Slot added: “He is always a very competitive player, so I am not surprised but you always wonder how are you going to react on this stage and at this level. He definitely deserves credit for his performance today.”

It did not end so well for 18-year-old Amara Nallo, whose debut off the bench lasted just over three minutes before he was sent off for bringing down Johan Bakayoko.

“It’s cruel. He has never played first-team football and then Champions League level is probably the hardest way of making your debut,” said Slot.

“It’s a big moment for him to learn from. You think in a moment like this, 10 minutes before the end ‘Phwoar, I’m going to make my debut in the Champions League’ and a few minutes later you go off with a red card. That is always difficult.

“But a career mainly is not always positive, there are also negatives and he has to fight very hard to make sure he will play a second Champions League game again.”