Liverpool manager Arne Slot confirmed after the 2-1 win over Lille in the Champions League that Curtis Jones withdrew due to injury.
Goals from Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott propelled the Reds to their seventh straight victory in the league stage of the reformatted competition, securing a place in the top eight and automatic qualification to the knockout stages.
The evening was not as simple as Slot would have liked, after back-to-back difficult Premier League games against Nottingham Forest and Brentford, and things were further complicated when the Dutchman was forced to make a first-half change.
Slot was planning to rotate his side in order to rest key players, with Dominik Szoboszlai penciled in along with Ryan Gravenberch to play only the first half. But those plans had to be changed when Jones suffered a concussion before half-time, prompting the former Feyenoord boss to go in a different direction.
“Yeah, the idea was to get Dom and Ryan out in the first half, but Curtis unfortunately couldn't go on so that's why Dom stayed a little bit longer,” Slott told reporters. “There was a moment in the game. What he felt, he said, 'Let's play five more minutes and then see how it is.'” But he said he had to come on at half-time.
“We wanted to win this game but we were also aware of the fact that we had to manage the loads. We would have been really, really, really unlucky if we had lost twice and still not been in top eight. i know now, i think 18 points would be enough to play top eight, but with 21 there is no question.
Asked about the result and LiverpoolSlot added: “We're happy to be in the top eight. This league table doesn't tell you anything.
“Maybe number 24 is better than number 16, but 16 had an easier draw. We want to be on top, but we have to wait and see if it's an advantage.
“As a manager, I'm a bit more impressed than the crowd or the people watching on TV. I knew they (Lille) were 21 games unbeaten but they won both of them. true and Atletico Madrid and they did it without the best players in the world, with the greatest respect. I wasn't happy about a missed chance and a conceded goal.”