Liverpool boss Arne Slot has insisted he's got no regrets over his side's team selection following their 3-0 Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
The Reds had gone into the game hoping to secure a return to winning ways, having lost five of their last six matches across all competitions.
But Liverpool, who put out a weakened side, paid the price with Oliver Glasner's team running riot on Merseyside.
Ismaila Sarr netted twice for the Eagles in the first half, with Yeremy Pino netting a third late on following Amara Nallo's dismissal.
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Slot has come under fire for rotating his team, especially given Liverpool's torrid Premier League form. Having enjoyed a positive start to the season, they've since fallen seven points behind rivals Arsenal at the summit.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, however, the Dutchman defended his decision and insisted he felt he had no other choice.
"It is always a blow to lose a game of football, especially if it leads to going out of a competition," admitted the 47-year-old. "But it is the same selection I did tonight as I did last season in rounds like this.
"There are many reasons, maybe, why we've lost six out of seven – none of them are good enough to accept losing so many.
Liverpool will be hoping to bounce back from their defeat to Crystal Palace when they face Aston Villa on Saturday
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Crystal Palace ran riot against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night
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"I can come up with arguments or reasons, but none of them will be enough to go to that standard because at Liverpool losing six out of seven is always too much.
"If I look at our performance against Brentford, to use that as an example, two days after we played [Eintracht] Frankfurt away, I saw there a team that maybe struggled with playing three games in seven days.
"Again, not an excuse to lose that game of football, but it is not a complete surprise to me if I see some of the struggles some players have had in pre-season and players that came from different leagues and it is a new challenge for them to play at Premier League and Champions League level in three games in seven days.
"So, again, in two days we play [Aston] Villa. And the last time I played a player we thought was ready for their programme but it turned out maybe he wasn't was Alexander Isak when he went out with an injury [at Frankfurt].
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Liverpool boss Arne Slot has insisted he's got no regrets over his side's team selection following their 3-0 Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace on Wednesday night
|PA
"Last time we played Southampton, Giovanni Leoni went out with an injury in a game like this and we got the red card for Hugo Ekitike after two yellows.
"I think at this moment in time, with only 15 or 16 players available – and I am talking then about players of our squad available – and to add to that this club has always used this competition to use their academy players as well – the non-starters and the academy players – it felt to me as the right decision and I haven't changed my opinion about that after the result because with our starters we haven't been able to win a lot from Palace as well."
Slot was then asked if there would be even more pressure on him when Liverpool tackle Aston Villa on Saturday night.
He insists that won't be the case, but acknowledged that Liverpool must start winning again soon to turn things around.
"I don't think it is possible if you lose six out of seven that there is even more pressure.
"If you are on a run of results like this, if you play for Liverpool, if you manage Liverpool, you know the pressure is there.
"I don't think it has changed much after this loss, but if it did then maybe the most positive thing about tonight was the position we were in, 2-0 down and we weren't really pushing for a goal because we weren't able to, the fans were behind the team and supporting us.
"That gives me the feeling on Saturday when our players will show how much it means to them, our fans will be incredibly supportive for us on Saturday.
Liverpool have lost six of their last seven matches following their Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace
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Crystal Palace will be targeting Carabao Cup glory following their win over Liverpool at Anfield
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"Again, we face a team that has rested in the week to play us and that's Villa."
Meanwhile, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher believes Slot was wrong to tinker with his side - labelling that decision as a 'big mistake'.
The former Liverpool star said: “It was the wrong team, make no mistake. You’ve not made it easy for the young players because of the team and players around them.
“You can’t tell me that he’s picked that team today and those subs thinking ‘that will get me a result against a really good Crystal Palace side’.
“You might hope they can but I didn’t believe for one second that they could beat them.
“He’s made a mistake today but he’s been unbelievable since he’s come to the club, this is real pressure for everyone concerned but that’s football.”