Arne Slot explains strange Curtis Jones decision in weakened Plymouth performance | OneFootball

Arne Slot used a very weakened Liverpool side to try and defeat Plymouth in the FA Cup yet of the two senior options on his bench, Curtis Jones remained unused for the duration.

Speaking after the game, our head coach explained the decision to leave the Scouser off the pitch, despite eventually losing the match (via liverpoolfc.com):

“Curtis Jones was on the bench, but he came to me this morning and said, ‘I don’t think I am fully recovered yet’ as well after the training session of yesterday.

“That all of a sudden led to the fact we were with a few more youngsters on the pitch than was the idea before the game, but still there was enough quality on the pitch to get a better result than this.”

It’s clear that the Dutchman is disappointed with the performance of his side, as we were knocked out of the competition by the team who are sat bottom of the Championship.

Arne Slot was not happy with his side’s performance at Plymouth

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Robbie Fowler described the performance as ‘un-Liverpool’ like and it wasn’t until we started going more direct in the closing stages of the match, that we started to get more chances.

Darwin Nunez was the only other first team option off the bench and he came onto the pitch and nearly scored late on to level the tie.

Had there been more quality for the 46-year-old to select between, then we may have had more of a chance of securing victory at Home Park.

However, the team selection was telling and it seemed that resting his squad ahead of a grueling run of five tough Premier League games in just 15 days – was prioritised.

If we go on to win the league in May, few will look back at a defeat to Argyle and be bothered – let’s just hope it doesn’t start to derail what has been an amazing campaign thus far.

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