Arne Slot shuts down claims about three Liverpool players he 'doesn't trust'

manager insists he doesn't lack trust in Wataru Endo, Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott despite their lack of minutes this season. The trio have only racked up a combined 1,712 minutes across all competitions at Anfield and there are 13 Liverpool players who have played more minutes than that on their own - with No.2 goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher even on 1,620.

The three rotation players don't have a single Premier League start between them with Endo having managed 14 appearances off the bench, Elliot 11 and Chiesa a mere three. While the Reds sit top of the Premier League with Slot likely to lift the title in his first season in England, questions have been asked recently with the Dutchman's regular starters looking tired. Only Nottingham Forest (23) have used fewer players than the league leaders (24) in the league this season and the productivity of Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah has dipped in recent games.

Liverpool were lethargic in their Carabao Cup final loss to Newcastle. It is the first match of the season Slot says his team were deserved losers as they failed to bounce back from their Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain on penalties just days earlier.

Elliott, Endo and Chiesa have all contributed in their support roles recently with the Italian winger notably scoring off the bench at Wembley. While Elliott scored a late winner in the first leg at PSG and Endo's midfield battling has been crucial in seeing out wins against Wolves and Manchester City in particular. But Slot says the fact they have only played sparingly does not indicate a lack of faith in their abilities from him.

"It is not to say that if you don't play someone, you don't trust them. I do," the Liverpool manager explained. "But probably I find the other ones a bit better otherwise I would make a different choice. Or they fit better in the team.

"Mo has certain qualities and Dom has certain qualities and these help each other. Whereas with other players it is a bit more difficult. That is what makes a team. I cannot play with 11 Mo Salahs and I cannot play with 11 Dominik Szoboszlais."

Having suffered disappointment in the Champions League and Carabao Cup before the international break, Liverpool face Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield in midweek in dire need of a win. Questions will be asked if they fail to beat the Toffees after being held to a 2-2 by their neighbours at Goodison Park in February in a rescheduled fixture.

As they look for five wins from the final nine games to clinch the club's 20th league title, Slot shared what he told his players this week in a meeting ahead of facing Everton: "Show them the work rate they have put in for so many games in a row.

"Paris Saint-Germain was a great example of that, so maybe, maybe, maybe I made the biggest mistake by not rotating enough. But I thought there were four days in between for Newcastle, they had enough rest but again it is too simple to only say we were outworked.

"We have to give credit to everything Newcastle did because in the end we conceded a corner. That is nothing to do with a sprint or tracking back or whatever, it is just conceding a corner but it is emphasising on what made us where we are now. For me, that is, apart from quality, an incredible work rate every single game we played in the Premier League."