Eddie Howe responds after Arne Slot Liverpool decision vs Chelsea

'Brilliant thanks for that!' - Eddie Howe responds after Arne Slot Liverpool decision vs Chelsea

Eddie Howe was speaking about Liverpool following Newcastel United's game against Brighton

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe and Arne Slot, the Liverpool head coach. (Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images )

Eddie Howe refused to criticise Arne Slot after the Liverpool boss made six changes to his side for the game against Chelsea. After securing the Premier League title against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Slot opted to rotate his side for the game at Stamford Bridge.

Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo were handed their first league starts of the season, while Kostas Tsimikas came in for Andy Robertson at left-back as Jarell Quansah replaced Ibrahima Konate at the back. Ryan Gravenberch, who had been an ever-present, did not make the trip to the capital.

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Some described the line-up as a 'weakened team' and the Reds would go on to lose the game 3-1.

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The victory boosted Chelsea’s hopes of securing Champions League football next season, with Enzo Maresca’s side now level on points with Newcastle.

But while Howe did admit that he is monitoring the Champions League picture, he refused to criticise Slot for opting to make changes to his side.

Kicking things off, the Magpies boss said: "I am always watching other games! Naturally, you think of our position and want a result that suits our position.

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"I am human, I have no problem saying that, but I try not to get emotional in that. Ultimately, the only emotion I need to direct is for my team.

"If we don't win games, we aren't going to get there anyway, so I try to detach myself and say, what will be will be, it is about what we do."

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Howe, speaking after Newcastle’s 1-1 with Brighton & Hove Albion, was then informed that Chelsea had taken the lead against the Reds and responded by saying: "Brilliant thanks for that!

“Liverpool have got to do what Liverpool have to do. I am not involved in their football club. We play Chelsea next week, so that's all we focus on now."

Explaining why he opted to make changes, Slot revealed: “They deserve to play these games because they have trained so hard this season.

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“We don’t judge them only on this game. We judge them every day on the training ground and in the moments that they play for us.

“Maybe we missed that little bit which we usually have. We missed a few percentages to get that result.

“If you look at how we reacted after being 2-0 down, we came back and we never gave up. Our fans didn’t give up. Playing against a good team like Chelsea, you can’t afford a lot and that’s what we saw.

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“It’s always good to see some fringe players playing now with starters. Now to see them playing with the other ones, it gives us insights.

“Nothing good comes from losing a game of football, but if I have to take positives, there were definitely a few.”

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