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Arne Slot vindicated after double Liverpool call as two brave decisions pay off

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot.
-Credit: (Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)


Liverpool needed two decisive moments against Fulham as Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota found the back of the net after Andy Robertson's red card. And two calls from Arne Slot proved decisive.

Firstly, opting to take Darwin Nunez out of the team to bring in Gakpo was a simple decision amid his run of difficult performances (so too was moving Luis Diaz into the center, where he performed well). There is no doubt that it worked, though, even in the context of the red card.

Gakpo ended up essentially playing as a wing-back in a creative formation brought about by the Robertson sending off but he got through a huge amount of defensive work and scored the first equalizer too. Alongside Ryan Gravenberch, he was a stand-out performer of those who started.

Returning from injury to net a vital goal for Liverpool, Jota was excellent too. His impact was substantial as he weaved inside and finished clinically, sliding the ball past Bernd Leno. It was a goal that the Portugal number nine has scored several times for the Reds: a jink onto his favored foot, and then a clean strike from inside the penalty area.

Slot got the call right to go with Gakpo over Nunez, though that was always likely. And when he needed something off the bench to turn the game in Liverpool's favor, he knew he had the right player in Jota to do just that.

With Jota and Harvey Elliott back, that is a huge weapon to have off the bench. Whoever doesn't start out of the forward and attacking midfield options, there will be at least three players to change things in the second half assuming, of course, that the injury situation remains static for a while.

Slot made the calls that he needed to as Liverpool picked up a point in difficult circumstances. In the bigger picture, it was more one gained than two dropped.