Liverpool: Slot ruthless with star as Sunderland suspension explained | Football | Sport
Arne Slot is facing an injury crisis at Liverpool (Image: Sky Sports)
Liverpool face Sunderland on Wednesday evening with Arne Slot desperately requiring three points. The Reds’ campaign suffered another blow on Sunday following their 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City at Anfield. The Reds opened the scoring against Pep Guardiola’s side courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai’s spectacular free kick. However, Slot’s men once more crumbled in the closing stages as City clinched victory with two late strikes.
Sunderland will present a formidable challenge for Champions League-chasing Liverpool, with Szoboszlai unavailable for Slot after his red card against City. Slot is grappling with a mounting injury crisis at Anfield, but has confirmed one Liverpool star will not feature in the starting XI against Sunderland. Here, Express Sport takes a look at the latest developments surrounding the Reds.
Dominik Szoboszlai ban explained
Szoboszlai will be unavailable for the Sunderland clash after being shown red against City. The Hungarian midfielder was sent off in peculiar circumstances after tracking back alongside Erling Haaland, before collapsing to the ground whilst chasing Rayan Cherki’s effort.
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City’s French forward thought he’d scored from the halfway line with Alisson out of position, but after VAR intervention, Craig Pawson overturned the decision. Szoboszlai was deemed to have obstructed a clear scoring opportunity after pulling back the Norwegian striker during their sprint before both players became entwined and fell.
Pawson disallowed the goal and restarted play after the advantage from the foul on Haaland failed to materialise.
Liverpool’s star man will now serve a one-match suspension for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, rather than a three-game ban for other red card offences. This means he’ll be available for next weekend’s FA Cup tie with Brighton and the trip to Nottingham Forest on February 22.
Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool fouls Erling Haaland of Manchester City (Image: Getty Images)
Star dealt another setback
Despite Liverpool’s right-back crisis, defender Calvin Ramsay won’t be filling in. Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley, the squad’s first and second choice right-backs, are both sidelined through injury, while Szoboszlai, who has filled in at full-back, is suspended.
Joe Gomez could make a comeback from injury, but remains a doubt, while Slot is also without centre-back Giovanni Leoni. However, Ramsay, who joined from Aberdeen in 2022, doesn’t seem to be considered as a solution to the problem, after Slot bluntly dismissed the overlooked player’s chances of starting for Liverpool in the Premier League.
“In general, if you don’t win a game, the players who aren’t playing become the best players in the squad,” Slot said on Tuesday. “That’s the same everywhere in the world. This is an example of that as well. I just want to protect all my players. I’ve chosen other players until now, and that’s also what I’m going to do tomorrow.”
Slot indicated that midfielders Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo are alternatives to the Scotland international. Ramsay arrived at Liverpool for slightly more than £4million during Jurgen Klopp’s tenure, but has spent considerable periods away from Anfield, with temporary stints at Preston, Bolton, Wigan and Kilmarnock, and is still awaiting his first Premier League start for the Reds.
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