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Liverpool earned a 2-0 win over Man City to tighten their grip on the Premier League title race.
Arne Slot has insisted he is going to have to protect his depleted Liverpool defence in the coming weeks.
The Reds stretched further clear at the top of the Premier League as they delivered a 2-0 victory over champions Manchester City at Anfield yesterday. Cody Gakpo and Mo Salah (penalty) were on target to ensure Liverpool moved nine points away from second-placed Arsenal, while they are 11 ahead of City.
But the Reds have a hectic period approaching, with trips to Newcastle United and Everton to come this week. Slot confirmed that Ibrahima Konate (knee) and Conor Bradley (hamstring) are set to be absent for a few weeks while Kostas Tsimikas (ankle) is still absent. The Liverpool head coach had only five defenders available against City, with Joe Gomez coming in for Konate while Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has recently recovered from his own hamstring issue, replacing Bradley.
Alexander-Arnold’s recent fitness issue is why he was substituted for Jarell Quansah. And Slot was impressed with all three defenders’ performances. The Liverpool supremo said: "These players that we have available now, it is important for them now – even more than normal – to stay fit. That's also why I took Trent [Alexander-Arnold] off after 70 minutes. He was able to play longer, he played a very good game, defended really well again and was a major threat in attack. I think he was the one that played the ball towards Mo that led to the 1-0.
"But, knowing that we play Newcastle [on] Wednesday and Saturday the Merseyside derby with only five available, we have to take care of them. That's why it was so pleasing to see the ones that came in – Joe and Jarell – did so well, even with Jarell in an unfamiliar position for him."
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