Arne Slot explains Curtis Jones omission and makes 'honest' comment about Liverpool team
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot says he is managing the minutes of midfielder Curtis Jones, hence why the Reds' number 17 has dropped out of the starting XI for the Champions League clash against RB Leipzig.
Jones was brilliant against Chelsea in the Premier League, with Slot labeling him "the best player on the pitch", but Alexis Mac Allister has come back into the team in Germany. Jones is named among the substitutes.
Next weekend, Liverpool is set to travel to the Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal. Jones will hope that he can be back in the side again for that crucial match in North London at the top of the table.
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"It's a very strong team we face tonight," Slot told TNT Sports on the UK coverage. Asked if Arsenal at the weekend had impacted his selection at all, he said: "Not that much to be honest. We tried to pick in my opinion the best possible team for tonight, and we take into account that we only played two days ago.
"That means that Kostas [Tsimikas], for example, is playing instead of Robbo [Andy Robertson]. With Curtis Jones, I think in everybody's opinion he was the best player on the pitch [vs Chelsea] but if you dive a bit deeper into it, you also know he has only played two games this season from the start and he didn't finish any of the two.
"For me, it was a bit too early to play him him again and if you have as well Macca [Mac Allister], who is back from being sick, it is in my opinion, a logical choice to make."
Asked about what he wants to see from Darwin Nunez, Slot added: "What you always want to see from a striker: scoring! But apart from scoring, Diogo Jota, but also Darwin when he came in against Chelsea, showed how important he was also without the ball. In the end, strikers are on the teamsheet mostly for scoring, so I'm hoping he can bring that to us today."