Arne Slot has opened up on his reasoning for leaving Alisson Becker out of Liverpool’s squad against Tottenham on Thursday, despite the goalkeeper not carrying any sort of injury.

The Brazilian was a surprise omission as the Reds booked their place in the Carabao Cup final with a 4-0 win over Tottenham at Anfield. Liverpool will face Newcastle at Wembley on March 16 as their fixture list becomes more congested amid the hunt for four trophies.

Having started the first leg in North London, Alisson’s absence raised a few eyebrows among supporters when the team was announced on Thursday night. With the goalkeeper suffering from more than his fair share of injuries over the last couple of season, fans understandably became concerned that another problem may have arisen.

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Those fears were eased when it was confirmed that Alisson had no fitness concerns, and that the decision had been simply to give the 32-year-old a rest, with Slot going into more detail as he spoke ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle.

“Almost every time we’ve played the second goalkeeper in the League Cup, so at Brighton it was Vit [Jaros] because at that moment in time Caoimh [Kelleher] wasn’t a No.1 because Alisson was injured,” Slot explained.

“There was only one exception and that was Tottenham away where Alisson came back from an injury, and I felt that he needed some extra playing time, because if you come back from an injury - you see this with many players - they sometimes need a bit of time to be at their best again.

“Three days later, we played the Accrington Stanley game, and then three days later we played Forest, and with him just being back from an injury, it felt better for him to play, have a week rest and then have Nottingham Forest, so that was more with the idea of being the best possibly prepared for the league.

“Yesterday was a League Cup game, so that meant Caoimh was in goal, and he absolutely deserves to be in goal for everything he did this season.”

That would seemingly confirm that Kelleher is set to start at Wembley next month, when he will be aiming to play a part in a third Carabao Cup success after helping the Reds to victory in 2022 and 2024. Slot though is not giving any guarantees just yet.

“We never know what the situation around the final is, how fit is everyone, do they need a game, so I cannot guarantee anything,” Slot added. “I never guarantee anything to the players so far in advance, and that’s not what I’m going to do now.”