Sky reporter claims Arne Slot is ‘protecting’ one player after Liverpool team news bombshell | OneFootball

Arne Slot was claimed to be ‘protecting’ one Liverpool player after making the decision to drop him to the bench for this evening’s Premier League clash against Chelsea.

The Reds boss has made five changes to the Reds’ starting XI from the defeat to Galatasaray four days ago. While Mo Salah and Alexander Isak are recalled as expected, the standout omission is Florian Wirtz, who’s among the substitutes at Stamford Bridge.

The playmaker was a big-money arrival from Bayer Leverkusen in June but hasn’t provided a goal contribution since claiming an assist in the Community Shield two months ago, with the head coach heeding Jamie Carragher’s advice to remove the 22-year-old from the LFC line-up for today.

Slot ‘protecting’ Wirtz by dropping him to the bench

When the Liverpool team news from west London was confirmed 75 minutes before kick-off, Sky Sports reporter David Richardson was immediately drawn to Slot’s omission of the Germany international.

He stated: “Wirtz cost £116m but this is the second time he’s been benched in a big game. The first was in the Merseyside derby last month and now at Stamford Bridge.

“He’s had an underwhelming start to his Liverpool career and Slot seems to be protecting him from further scrutiny on the biggest stage.”

(Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Slot goes back to basics v Chelsea – how will Wirtz react to being benched?

Perhaps Wirtz hasn’t yet had the impact at Anfield that many would’ve been hoping or expecting, but it’s still a big call by Slot to leave him out of the Reds’ starting XI for an away match against Chelsea, where we haven’t won in five years.

The 47-year-old experimented with Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back and Jeremie Frimpong in attack in the defeat to Galatasaray, but today he’s gone with a more conventional line-up as the Hungarian reverts to the number 10 role and Conor Bradley comes in to start.

Liverpool’s £116m man is duly the one to lose out as a result of that reshuffle, but he can take heart from the impact that some of his teammates have had off the bench so far this season.

Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha both came on to score late winners in August, as did Hugo Ekitike in the Carabao Cup over Southampton more recently. If Wirtz is brought on and makes a telling contribution against Chelsea, the external narrative around him should change for the better.

Slot will no doubt be hoping that the 22-year-old responds to his omission from the starting XI with an added motivation to come off the bench and (if needed) swing the game in the Reds’ favour. Do that and he can go into the international break on a high!