Arne Slot’s Tactical Tetris with Star Players…
Liverpool’s Arne Slot had football tongues wagging on Saturday as he pulled off a lineup of surprises against Southampton. Despite the supposed three-final approach, it seems Slot was playing fantasy football, half planning for the midweek PSG clash. In a move as popular as pineapple on pizza, he benched Andy Robertson and Alexis Mac Allister. It wasn’t a completely nonsensical decision, though. Robertson needed a breather from being everywhere on the pitch, and Mac Allister was granted a sofa day cause why not?
Meanwhile, Diogo Jota, fresh from his role as Liverpool’s busiest body post-injury, found himself benched too. Enter Kostas Tsimikas, Curtis Jones, and Darwin Nunez, ready to unleash chaos—or at least, that’s what the script says. And let’s not forget the masterplan: flood the field with subs if Liverpool breaks a sweat early on.
Cody Gakpo’s talent show was surprisingly canceled again due to his injury whims. The Dutch dynamo hasn’t been a regular since February—will he ever get off that list of mysteriously injured stars? Slot hinted at a close call, “Maybe, maybe not,” a classic manager’s cliffhanger. The suspense! The lineup was a mix of experienced boots like Salah and untested ones eyeing greatness—Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa, and James McConnell all waiting in the wings. Hold on to your scarves, Liverpool fans; it’s never a dull day with Slot’s strategic experiments!
