Arne Slot welcomes Liverpool team selection headache after Brighton gamble pays off

Luis Diaz's extremity sandwiched betwixt strikes from Simon Adingra and Tariq Lamptey yet ensured the holders survived a precocious scare connected the southbound seashore to advancement to the quarter-finals, with Cody Gakpo the prima of the show arsenic helium netted doubly and was a changeless menace throughout.

But the Dutchman wasn't the lone Reds subordinate to drawback the oculus astatine the Amex Stadium.

Had it not been for immoderate important saves from Vitezslav Jaros - connected his afloat elder competitory debut for Liverpool - astatine 0-0 and not excessively agelong aft Gakpo had breached the deadlock successful the 2nd half, the result could person been precise different.

Though Slot was speedy to admit the Czechia international's heroics with his hands, helium was arsenic impressed with the goalkeeper's ball-playing quality arsenic the 23-year-old kept chill erstwhile faced with Brighton's assertive precocious press.

"I similar the past happening you accidental due to the fact that everybody could spot however important his saves were," the Liverpool brag said. "I deliberation the archetypal large accidental of the crippled was for them wherever helium saved the one-versus-one and successful the 2nd fractional of people we each retrieve 1 oregon 2 saves arsenic well.

"But helium besides added to that however comfy helium was with the shot astatine his feet: making the close choices connected erstwhile to spell abbreviated and erstwhile to clip the shot towards the striker, and it helped for him the prime Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez brought successful build-up. So, I liked that triangle contiguous a batch successful shot possession."

Jaros was 1 of 8 changes made to the Liverpool lineup aft Sunday’s pulsating 2-2 Premier League gully with rubric rivals Arsenal, with the likes of Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah, Wataru Endo and Tyler Morton each handed opportunities.

"Yeah, it was decidedly [tough]. If you person to travel present you cognize it’s going to beryllium a hard crippled due to the fact that of the benignant of play, due to the fact that of the recruitment they person present implicit the past fewer years," helium added.

"And past to get distant from present with a result, with a win, is of people precise pleasing.

"For the long-term, I truly liked what I spot from players that haven’t played that overmuch this play yet, that they were capable to play a akin benignant that we usually bash and they brought prime into the game, truthful that makes it adjacent harder for maine to marque lineups successful the upcoming weeks."