Arne Slot reacts during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg football match between Galatasaray SK and Liverpool FC at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex in Istanbul on March 10, 2026. (Photo by YASIN AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Arne Slot reacts during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg football match between Galatasaray SK and Liverpool FC at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex in Istanbul on March 10, 2026. (Photo by YASIN AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
Liverpool suffered a 1-0 loss against Galatasaray in the Champions League last 16 first leg.
Stephen Warnock reckons that Arne Slot’s decision to shuffle his Liverpool defensive pack was a reason why they fell to defeat against Galatasaray.
The Reds’ 1-0 loss to the Turkish side in the Champions League last 16 first leg at Rams Park. Mario Lemina’s seventh-minute header proved the difference, with Liverpool having to overcome a deficit in next week’s return clash at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s side did have chances in the game, as well as an equaliser disallowed by VAR for handball. But Galatasaray also had opportunities they spurned, with Reds goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili making several good saves, as well as a goal ruled out for offside.
Slot made five changes to his Liverpool from the team that beat Wolves 3-1 in the FA Cup in their previous contest. Andy Robertson, who recorded a goal and an assist at Molineux, was replaced by Milos Kerkez at left-back while Joe Gomez shuffled to right-back with Ibrahima Konate reinstalled in central defence.
But Warnock, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, feels that the switches had a negative impact on captain Virgil van Dijk. The ex-Liverpool full-back said: “Virgil van Dijk looked more confident with Robertson and Gomez alongside him. Konate can switch off and his mind wanders, which means Van Dijk ends up doing more work than he should. Slot should have stayed with the same line-up as Wolves away from home.
“Virgil van Dijk looked more confident with Robertson and Gomez alongside him. Konate can switch off and his mind wanders, which means Van Dijk ends up doing more work than he should. Slot should have stayed with the same line-up as Wolves away from home.”
Warnock added: “I think team selection would have been an issue for a lot of Liverpool fans and the substitutions he made. However, if you do progress into the next round then everything is forgotten and you start to believe and wonder: ‘Could this be our year’?
“[Slot] has got a huge game in front of him but the team need to perform. They have got to buy into what he’s putting out in front of him, what the game-plan is and at the moment, it’s not quite going his way.”
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