REDS DIG DEEP

Perfect run ends but stand-ins put up a fight as big guns rest

- Chris McKenna

JUST a third defeat of the season for Arne Slot’s side but this will not matter in Liverpool’s trophy chase this season.

Slot had examined the complexities of this new Champions League format and decided finishing second instead of first would not put them on a tough road to Munich in May.

So his team selection showed even before they left Merseyside on Tuesday with stars such as Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk left at home with their feet up as the Reds were already in the last 16.

Other than the young players who got valuable minutes, as well as debuts on Europe’s biggest stage, and Cody Gakpo’s nice return to his boyhood club PSV, this will not be a match that will live long in the memory.

In their 35th game of the season, Slot’s side lost their 100 percent European record in a five-goal affair that had drama – but eyes were elsewhere on the continent.

And, when Barcelona failed to beat Atalanta, the Reds held on to top spot in the 36-team league.