Arne Slot's Liverpool job gets A LOT harder after injury news against Crystal Palace

© IMAGO

In a nerve-wracking 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, where a rotated Liverpool side just about managed to come away with all three points, Arne Slot was given a clear indication of how difficult it will be to get through such a jam-packed schedule.

While some players were already out with injuries, others were rested due to the quick turnaround from the Red's comprehensive win over Bologna in midweek and further setbacks happened throughout the game.

Read more: Crystal Palace vs Liverpool: Player ratings as Jota STRIKES for Liverpool

With Dominik Szoboszlai, Andy Robertson and Luis Diaz rested ahead of the game, Curtis Jones, Kostas Tsimikas and Cody Gakpo each came in to add fresh legs to Liverpool's team.

And just 10 minutes into the game, all three of Slot's changes were involved in the match's only goal - as Tsimikas slipped in Gakpo down the left-hand side, who drove into the box and found Jota on the end of a neatly worked cross.

But what followed was an incredibly nervy affair, where the Reds continued to attack Palace's goal but to no avail.

At half-time, Alexis Mac Allister came off with reports claiming he had ice on his thigh, perhaps a return to the injury he suffered earlier in the season when he was out on international duty with Argentina, feeling tightness in his muscles.

He was replaced by Szoboszlai who started on the bench to be given a well-deserved rest after perhaps overdoing it in midweek against Bologna, where he was praised for his constant high press and backtracking to ensure the team notched up another clean sheet.

But Liverpool's injury worries did not finish there, as Alisson Becker went down in the 80th minute clutching his hamstring, resulting in Viteslav Jaros being given his debut in goal as Coaimhin Kelleher was absent from the matchday squad with illness.

Despite his limited experience, the 23-year-old Czech international was calm and composed as the game concluded, with Liverpool successfully earning their sixth clean sheet in 10 matches this season.

Arne Slot's job just got harder

Liverpool chose a restricted approach in the transfer market this summer, opting for Federico Chiesa as the club's only new recruit to Merseyside this season - who after impressing against West Ham last week now finds himself injured.

Believing firmly in the quality of the squad that Arne Slot would inherit from ex-Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, it looked to be a bold move, but one that has nonetheless proved successful so far, with the Reds winning nine of their ten matches so far.

However, Arne Slot's ambition to make as few changes to the starting XI as possible is now being pushed to the limit.

© IMAGO - Alisson

Elliott remains out for the long term, Chiesa has managed just one start so far, Mac Allister and Alisson are out with their second injuries of the season and players who have started brightly are already having to be rested to ensure they don't follow a similar fate.

Fortunately for the Dutch boss, the domestic season is now interrupted by the second international break, so those resting injuries will be given two weeks of uninterrupted recovery, but while most the Liverpool's players are key assets for their national teams, the games will continue to come thick and fast.

Additionally, Liverpool find themselves at the beginning of a daunting run of fixtures across all competitions which will stretch into December, beginning with Chelsea's visit to Anfield in two weeks.

The Reds under Slot couldn't have started the season in much better form, but now injuries have begun to set in and as the difficulty of the opponents begins to increase, we are about to see what this new-look team is really made of.

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