Arne Slot has explained why he subbed on Wataru Endo over Federico Chiesa

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Arne Slot‘s decision to inject Wataru Endo late into the defeat at Chelsea over Federico Chiesa drew plenty of criticism, and he has explained why he made that call. And after Cody Gakpo scored the equaliser in the 63rd minute, there was an expectation that Slot would turn to Chiesa for impetus off the bench, which he has done to good effect this season. • READ: Slot’s system is not working – but key stats show Liverpool aren’t doing the basics Instead, Slot opted to withdraw Alexis Mac Allister and replace him with Endo instead of making a change in attack late on, and he explained this was to seek some control.

“If you look at the substitution we made, we brought in Endo, who we normally bring in if we think we need a bit more control,” Slot told beIN Sports. “The last 10-15 minutes were so open, and I thought we could use a bit more control because we were still able maybe to create, but we definitely needed the control because we were already with Ryan Gravenberch playing as a centre-back.

“I don’t think that substitution was too offensive, the rest was because we were 1-0 down, and then we tried to win by pushing a lot forward, but also making offensive substitutions.” Chelsea ended up bypassing the press of Curtis Jones and Endo in midfield late on, setting up their winner as Andy Robertson was caught on the back post – another of his subbed players. Endo’s substitution, though, could also have implications for the games to come as he has since withdrawn from international duty, adding another name to the injury list.