The Liverpool boss discussed the lack of minutes for Trey Nyoni in the FA Cup win over Barnsley.
Arne Slot lamented that he was unable to give Trey Nyoni more minutes during Liverpool’s victory over Barnsley.
The Reds expectedly took control of the game, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong scoring fine individual goals. But before half-time, Szoboszlai’s error inside his own box allowed Barnsley to reduce the deficit through Adam Phillips.
While Liverpool dominated much of the second period, they struggled to create a lot of clear-cut chances before Florian Wirtz restored their cushion in the 84th minute and fellow substitute Hugo Ekitike confirmed the triumph in stoppage-time.
Slot admitted that the tie being close for so long meant that he was unable to introduce Nyoni earlier. The 18-year-old midfielder has not played regularly this season as he’s been around the first-team squad. He has featured only five times for the under-19s and under-21s.
What’s been said
Slot was hoping to reward Nyoni with a substantial cameo off the bench against Barnsley. Instead, he came on in the 88th minute. Liverpool head coach Slot told LFCTV: “It's not for the first time that we are 2-0 up and give a goal away easily but this one stands out when you talk about easily. It's unbelievable you give a goal away like this and that why it was really hard until the end.
“I feel really sorry for Trey because maybe it was my mistake but at 2-1, I thought I had to make the substitutions to win the game instead of giving a young player who is training so hard every single day and is such a big talent the playing time he might deserve.
“But I thought let's bring Ryan in first and that all had to do with us conceding the 2-1 because usually a game like this should go to three and then maybe more. But we made it difficult for ourselves to concede the 2-1 and then the team gets belief again, they defend even better than they did at 2-0. Not a time, easy goal given away when we were 2-0 up.”
Nyoni may now have to wait for his next game, although it is likely to be for some time. Given the injuries that Liverpool have in their squad, he will need to continue to be part of Slot’s plans for the upcoming matches.
Nyoni, signed from Leicester City in 2023, has been on the bench in the past six games in all competitions, also making fleeting appearances in Premier League wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He is likely to be involved in Saturday’s game against Burnley, meaning he will be unavailable for the under-21s’ encounter against Arsenal on the same afternoon.
Liverpool face Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup fourth round, meaning that Nyoni it is improbable he will get an opportunity.
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