Arne Slot gave nine regulars the night off against Southampton in the Carabao Cup as he opted to make 11 changes to his starting lineup after three games in seven days.
Liverpool welcomed Southampton off the back of three games in seven days in the Premier League and Champions League, and it was never a secret that regular starters would be rested.
Slot confirmed as much after the win against Everton, with his team sheet on Tuesday night reflecting his willingness to rotate.
Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah are all fit, but none were in the squad.
While Mac Allister will likely not have been in contention, he had another reason for missing out after he and his partner, Ailen, welcomed their first child on Monday, as he announced on Instagram.
With Liverpool not back in action until Saturday, the Argentine will not miss the trip to Selhurst Park, unlike Hugo Ekitike after he was shown a red card after two needless cautions.
The absence of Liverpool’s usual starters offered opportunities to Giorgi Mamardashvili, Joe Gomez, Giovanni Leoni, Wataru Endo, Trey Nyoni, Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoha, among others.
However, the notable downside was Leoni’s concerning-looking injury late in the game, which saw him taken off on a stretcher.
Tuesday’s fixture proved a needed run out, and saw Alexander Isak score his first goal for the club, all the while progressing to the next round and keeping the regulars fresh with three games in eight days now to come.
Liverpool 2-1 Southampton