Liverpool head coach Arne Slot previews the crucial Champions League clash against Qarabag at Anfield on Wednesday
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, speaks to the media during a press conference at AXA Training Centre on January 27, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Arne Slot speaks to the media during the Liverpool press conference at Anfield on January 27, 2026(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
View Image
When the final verdict is passed on a tortuous Liverpool season, much consideration will be paid to events before a ball was even kicked for the Premier League champions. What happened - and didn't happen - in the transfer window has shaped much of what has followed for Arne Slot's side.
And the growing consensus is the record £450million splashed out on new players failed to resolve the one issue which in retrospect even the Reds boss admits was always in danger of being a problem.
The lack of depth in Liverpool's squad has become increasingly apparent during a busy January in which the team that physically wilted in defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday play an eighth of nine games when Qarabag visit Anfield for the final Champions League opening stage match this evening.
Having not had the largest number of options last season, the long-term injuries to Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Alexander Isak have highlighted the summer gamble of seeking high-end quality at the expense of quantity has subsequently backfired.
Indeed, Liverpool will go into tonight's game with Virgil van Dijk their only senior available centre-back.
Slot, though, takes a pragmatic view. "Even if you would reconsider and you come to a different decision, then the question is are we able to change it? Can we make this squad bigger with the money available and the things we can do?" he said.
"We are maybe one or two players short compared to last season in terms of numbers, and if you add then three long-term injuries to that, then all of a sudden it is quite a lot.
"This is not going to be a popular opinion what I am going to tell you now. But maybe the reason we won the league last season is we had to play Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, because as you know they beat us and we had every time a week to prepare for our next game.
"We are aware, every manager is aware, the bigger squad you have, the better equipped you are for so many games. But I am also aware of the fact that even today I had to disappoint one or two players that would prefer to play.
"Now if you have 10 or 15 who want that, that is also not a good thing to have. It is not an easy balance to find, but obvious because of the three long-term injuries, now it is a disbalance, that is obvious."
While Slot's regular references to the PSG game have long been used by his detractors as a stick with which to beat him, his general observation is not unsound.
But if the Reds boss believes elimination from Europe aided the Premier League title pursuit, this time around the Champions League has provided most of the high points of Liverpool's season with last week's impressive 3-0 win at Marseille following wins at Inter and at home to Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Progress, though, has come at a cost with four of the Reds' seven Premier League defeats coming immediately after a Champions League match.
Liverpool simply haven't been able to juggle competing in both competitions.
"If you look at our Champions League campaign this season, some teams maybe have been lucky enough to face the ones that are now all outside the next round (between 25th and 36th in the table)," said Slot.
"There is only one team from those that we faced (Eintracht Frankfurt). So we have had a lot of strong teams to face. We did really well, but maybe two days afterwards when we had to play in the league, that brought us some problems, because we have played so many strong teams in Europe."
The constant desire not to overburden players and threaten their fitness has prompted Slot to make a number of selection calls and substitutions that haven't met with widespread approval from supporters, such as benching Hugo Ekitike and replacing Jeremie Frimpong early at the weekend.
"Taking Jeremie off, no-one would complain if I brought in a similar player," said the Liverpool head coach. "But I had to end the game with four defenders where only two were real defenders. That does not help with the narrative. That I am completely aware of.
"What would be worse, and Conor Bradley is a great example, if I gave him two games in a row when he is not ready for that, then he can get injured. Before people say I don’t listen to performance staff or medical staff, I am listening and sometimes I make my own decisions.
"I speak to my players and know how they feel and if they are ready to go again for 90 minutes. You take all that into account, make a line-up and decide on your substitutions.
"For people who don’t have all the information, that could lead to scrutiny. I am aware of that.
"If you are not aware of the information it is not strange to criticise decisions. But if people knew the struggles we and I are facing, they would be more understanding of the decisions I make."