Gary Lineker sympathizes with Arne Slot after Liverpool boss raises concern

Gary has manager finds himself in with injury woes and a crammed fixture list, after Slot raised issues over the hectic schedule for teams playing in Europe.

After a solid 2-0 Champions League win against Bologna on October 2, was immediately faced with a demanding 12:30pm kick-off (local time) at Crystal Palace just three days later on October 5.

This allowed Slot only a short recovery window to prepare his players for a challenging match at Selhurst Park, which they just edged out thanks to Diogo Jota's early goal. Yet the victory came at a cost as key players suffered injuries. Alexis Mac Allister picked up a muscle problem and ace goalkeeper Alisson was ruled out with a hamstring tear set to sideline him for six weeks, although Mac Allister's condition might not be as serious initially feared, shown by his call-up to join Argentina for forthcoming matches.

Unfazed by the early game time before facing Palace – a scheduling issue known to have annoyed his predecessor Jurgen Klopp – Slot quipped: "If 12:30pm was a difficult time to perform then I am a stupid manager because I train every day at midday!"

But post-match, his tune seemed to change as the reality of his injured players sunk in. After Liverpool clinched a 1-0 victory but ended up with injuries, Slot spoke to BBC Sport stating: "Maybe this is something the FA should look at. If you play Wednesday evening why do we have an early kick-off in an away game? Or they have to look at me and rotate all my players. Maybe it is also bad luck, I don't know."

The conversation continued on the Rest is Football podcast where Gary Lineker couldn't resist commenting on the apparent switch in Slot's pre- and post-match perspectives. Lineker observed: "I thought it was quite fun that Arne Slot the day before the game said about after playing in Europe, then having to come back and be the early, playing the early kick off.

"[He said] 'it doesn't make any difference, it shouldn't matter, it's nothing'. Then after the game, when his team were a little bit jaded, he's gone, 'we really need to look at this'."

Showing empathy amidst the discussion, Lineker said: "Well, they got two injuries, so I understand why he switched it a little bit, but who knows whether that was anything to do with it. But it was quite interesting."

Lineker did not hold back in highlighting Slot’s impressive record at Liverpool too, remarking: "He's had an amazing start, really. It was an away victory again, they look very organised."

The Reds are gearing up for a tough home match against Chelsea this Sunday, following their return from international duty. This will be swiftly followed by a journey to Germany next Wednesday to face RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

The relentless schedule doesn't let up, with an away game against Arsenal later in October, and then a trip down south to take on Brighton in the Carabao Cup on October 30.