Arne Slot says recent performances have been below Liverpool’s standard

Liverpool were eliminated from the Carabao Cup as Crystal Palace defeated the champions 3-0 at Anfield on Wednesday night.

Arne Slot made 10 changes to the side that lost 3-2 away to Brentford at the weekend, giving academy players game time.

Ismaila Sarr got the opener in the 41st minute, finishing calmly after the ball broke to him in the box as he continued his scoring streak against the Reds.

The Senegalese international got his second of the night and doubled the FA Cup winners’ advantage after he flicked a forward pass on to Pino and broke free to collect a return from his teammate, clinically finishing past Woodman. It became the fourth time he has found the net against Liverpool this season.

Liverpool’s frustrations were compounded by the dismissal of Amara Nallo, who brought down Justin Devenny just outside the penalty area.

Pino capped off a good performance from the Eagles with a third goal to seal the deal for the visitors.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said, “It’s not of Liverpool’s standards to lose five out of six, or six out of seven.

“Everybody can have their opinion about [the selection], but with the squad we have – maybe 15 or 16 first-team players available – this is the choice I’ve made.”

On the performance: “For the first half an hour, we made it a game. Actually maybe we had the better chances in that first half hour.

“But after we conceded the 1-0 and just before half-time the 2-0, I knew, we knew, I think everybody in the stadium knew it would be very difficult to play against a structured team which, until now, I think it was only the Community Shield game where we were able to score twice against them. Especially with a team that hasn’t played together many times.”

On his disappointment at the result and whether he has ‘any regrets’ over his team selection: “It is always a blow to lose a game of football, especially if it leads to going out of a competition. But it is the same selection I did tonight as I did last season in rounds like this.

“There are many reasons, maybe, why we’ve lost six out of seven – none of them are good enough to accept losing so many. I can come up with arguments or reasons, but none of them will be enough to go to that standard because at Liverpool losing six out of seven is always too much.” He told the Liverpool official website.

The champions will hope they can return to winning ways as they host Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday night.