Arne Slot made wholesale changes to Liverpool’s starting XI to face Chelsea this afternoon having won the Premier League last week.

The Dutch manager brought in six new players from the team that beat Tottenham last Sunday, as Slot completely changed the central midfield as Diogo Jota led the line for Liverpool, with Kostas Tsimikas and Jarell Quansah also starting in defence.

With Liverpool coach John Heitinga seemingly impressed with Quansah’s performance despite scoring an own goal, the Anfield side’s fringe players gave mixed performances at Stamford Bridge in a game that ultimately meant nothing for the Reds.

And Slot has now shared his verdict on how these players performed against Chelsea having lost 3-1 in west London.

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READ MORE: What we learned about Liverpool’s fringe players during Chelsea loss

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Speaking to BBC Sport after full-time, Slot admitted that he learned more about Liverpool’s fringe players after today’s result against Chelsea, with the Dutch manager likely to keep to this tactic in the final three games of the season.

With the likes of Wataru Endo making his first Premier League start of the season, games like this could be crucial for the Liverpool manager, with Slot saying: It’s always good to see some fringe players playing now with starters.

Now, to see them playing with the other ones, it gives us insights.”

Indeed, these last Premier League matches could give Slot a good idea of who could remain at Liverpool next season, and the Dutch manager seemed to suggest that the likes of Endo and Jota could remain in the XI.

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Slot added: “They deserve to play these games because they have trained so hard this season.

We don’t judge them only on this game, we judge them every day on the training ground and in the moments that they play for us.”

Liverpool are set for a huge summer of spending, with Jamie Carragher predicting the Reds to bring in six new signings as Slot looks to add more quality to his squad in a bid to reclaim the Premier League title for next season.

However, squad figures impressing for Liverpool this month against the likes of Arsenal and Crystal Palace could lead to the Anfield side saving millions on new signings, with Slot already showing that he can breathe new life into some players at the club.

Endo winning plaudits from Liverpool fans could be one such solution to Slot expanding on his trusted player pool at the club, and the Reds could use money saved on potential targets to help land world-class names who can improve the squad in a big way.


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