Arne Slot has admitted that briefly using Cody Gakpo as a left-back in the 2-2 draw at home to Fulham was a tactical change that backfired.
The Reds were held at Anfield on Saturday, dropping key points in the Premier League, but they battled bravely with 10 men after Andy Robertson was sent-off in the 17th minute.
Slot got a spirited and energetic performance out of his players in trying circumstances, but one tactical tweak with a man down didn’t work.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Slot was quick to admit that moving Gakpo to left-back didn’t pan out the way he hoped, as he took little time to abandon the decision.
“It always depends on the players you have available, how you are going to react to that,” Slot said.
“Are you one goal down, are you one goal up? So, that makes a difference.
“If you are one goal up, you might consider to defend with a lot of players, so then I might have considered to bring immediately a defender in. But if you are one goal down, you see differently.
“So first you take a look at the tactics board and you think, ‘this might be a good option’. That’s what we did for five minutes.
“But then looking at it, it looked better on a tactics board than on the pitch with Cody being a left-back!”
The fact that Slot said all of this with a smile suggests that he was in good spirits after the game, despite the result.
He will know how much effort his team put into twice coming from behind with a man down, and their refusal to lie down bodes well for the rest of the season.
It’s refreshing to see Slot be so honest about making a tactical error, too, as he continues to carry himself so impressively as Liverpool’s head coach.
Ultimately, the Dutchman corrected his decision and ensured his side outplayed Fulham for large periods, highlighting his ability to make quick tweaks during games.
It’s safe to say we won’t be seeing Gakpo at left-back again, though!
