Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has questioned Reds boss Arne Slot's tactics after the Premier League champions lost 1-0 at Galatasaray in the Champions League in midweek, their second consecutive defeat after going down in stoppage time against Crystal Palace. Slot opted to start Mohamed Salah on the bench in a series of mistakes Crouch cited by the Dutchman, who has faced little scrutiny so far in his tenure having won the league title in his first season in charge.
Arne Slot questioned over tactics as Liverpool lose in Istanbul
Liverpool were defeated by a single goal in Istanbul, a first-half Victor Osimhen penalty converted after Dominik Szoboszlai was adjudged to have fouled Baris Alper Yilmaz with a trailing arm in the box. Crouch has labelled Slot’s tactical decisions as “strange” in the defeat.
The Reds had 16 shots and 66% possession but were thwarted by the Turkish champions, leading to questions over some of the decisions made by the Dutch head coach – Jeremie Frimpong, usually a right-back by trade, started on the wing ahead of the rested Salah, who came on in the second half alongside Alexander Isak, Alexis Mac Allister and Conor Bradley. The struggles of Florian Wirtz also continued, as the £116million ($156m) signing flattered to deceive again.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesCrouch questions Slot's decisions in Galatasaray defeat
Peter Crouch was speaking exclusively to Paddy Power. He said: "Arne Slot made some mistakes in the Galatasaray game. Salah very rarely sits on the bench, playing Frimpong higher up, Szoboszlai at right back. It did feel a bit strange, the tactics. That’s the first time I’ve thought the manager got it wrong there. But other than that, I don’t think anyone is firing quite yet – Arsenal, City, Liverpool, Chelsea – everyone’s faltered.”
Changes do not pay off as Liverpool defeated again
It can be argued that the Reds underestimated their opponents, particularly considering their near-faultless run to first place in the league phase of last year’s Champions League. But this encounter would not prove as straightforward, as the deafening atmosphere was to the advantage of the buoyant home side. It would be Osimhen who won the game, a striker who has often been linked with a move to the Premier League but now plies his trade with Galatasaray instead.
Crouch’s comments reflect a fact which Slot himself may be quick to admit, that he did not necessarily get things right on the night or give his side the best opportunity to win the game. The fact that he rung the changes early in the second period suggested that he felt players he had left on the bench may have had a better chance of getting his side back into the contest. Such a conundrum may, ultimately, end up becoming more commonplace following the club’s summer spending, with nearly £250m ($336m) worth of talent sat on the bench while players in the starting XI faltered. It has been suggested by Jamie Carragher that the club may even miss a man who left in Trent Alexander-Arnold.
(C)Getty ImagesWirtz will come good – Crouch
Crouch would defend Florian Wirtz, though, claiming the 22-year-old Germany international will “come good” and should be given a chance to settle into life on Merseyside.
Crouch said: "Wirtz is a player, I think he's a class act. We're looking at him through 100-million-pound glasses. If he came through the youth team, we would be saying ‘oh what a fantastic, talented player.’ But if you cost £100 million, you need to hit the ground running, and that quite clearly hasn't happened. I had a difficult time when I didn’t score for ages, and I know the fans will stick by him. I genuinely do think he'll come good. I don't think anyone's created more chances than Wirtz this season. So the stats are there, once people start putting them away, or he starts them putting away, the confidence will grow and I think things will really go for him. He reminds me, in some ways, of Coutinho as someone who scored goals and he just needs a bit more luck."
