Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said that Cody Gakpo's recent workload was a factor in his decision to rest the Dutchman against Lille in the Champions League, as he reiterated that Federico Chiesa is not yet ready to start a competitive match.

Gakpo has lined up in 10 successive Premier League games and drops out of the side for the Reds' first European game of 2025, with Slot selecting a front three comprising Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez.

Slot was asked in a pre-match interview with UK broadcaster Amazon Prime whether Nunez's start was a reward for the Uruguayan's match-winning contribution to the Premier League win over Brentford on Saturday.

He responded: "Not only that. Cody has played many, many games recently. Darwin has always done well, so it's not only because he scored two. At the moment I have four players (Nunez, Salah, Diaz and Gakpo) who can start the game [in attack], and today I chose these three (Nunez, Salah and Diaz)."

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Diogo Jota is unavailable once more after sustaining a muscle injury during last week's draw with Nottingham Forest, while Slot is carefully managing Chiesa after a slow start to the Italian's Reds career.

During a press conference on Monday, Slot challenged striker Nunez to take his game to the next level by becoming a world-class player — a status enjoyed in the Liverpool squad by only two or three players.

The Dutchman raised that challenge again shortly ahead of kick-off against Lille, saying: "If you play at a club like Liverpool, it's about showing up every three days. It's not enough to win a few games. The standards here are winning every game you play. What Darwin has done really well until now is he always puts a lot of effort in. That's also part of being a No.9."

Slot was also asked whether he is prioritizing any particular competition this season as the Reds continue to fight on four fronts. "At this club it's always about winning every single game," Slot said. "You cannot say we prefer this above that. Of course, every manager prefers to win the Premier League and Champions League above the League Cup, but it's still a trophy we can win. At this moment in the season, we don't prioritize anything, we just prioritize the next game."