Since Liverpool wrapped up the Premier League title by beating Spurs at Anfield, Arne Slot’s side has picked up just one point. It lost at Chelsea and then drew with Arsenal, but none of that matters at all. The job is done.
Far more important at this stage is getting ready for next season. Some players have been given a rest —Ryan Gravenberch against Chelsea and then Alexis Mac Allister against Arsenal — while others have been handed the chance to impress after a frustrating campaign in terms of minutes for the likes of Harvey Elliott.
In the remaining two fixtures that Liverpool has to play — Brighton away and then Crystal Palace at home — Slot has some decisions to make. And none are bigger than what he does with Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was booed on Sunday.
Liverpool cannot afford for its title party to be overshadowed by chatter about whether fans should or shouldn’t show their displeasure at Alexander-Arnold choosing to move on and sign for Real Madrid. And, of course, there is a need to give Conor Bradley the opportunity to further bed himself in ahead of next season.
Given that Bradley is still working his way back to full fitness — and was on a yellow card when he was taken off and replaced by Alexander-Arnold against Arsenal — giving him two lots of 90 minutes would not seem sensible. Slot said he wanted to win the game and felt that Alexander-Arnold could help with that.
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He did, though, have Jarell Quansah available who could have come on instead. And Joe Gomez is edging closer to a return too, though it remains to be seen how close he is to being able to play again.
Ultimately, if Liverpool fans are going to boo Alexander-Arnold, there is a decision to be made on whether or not he should be on the field. It cannot be easy for the player — or his teammates — to perform with that going on in the background.
Elsewhere, Liverpool also has decisions to make across the rest of the field as well. Might Kostas Tsimikas get another chance ahead of Andy Robertson?
Should Elliott get another go in the center of the pitch? Could Caoimhin Kelleher even get another game before he likely moves on in the summer?
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Federico Chiesa wasn’t even on the bench against Arsenal so it seems unlikely that he would start, but Diogo Jota is another option in the Liverpool attack. And then there is Darwin Nunez.
Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, is still chasing the Premier League record for the most goal contributions (needing just two more to break it). He will be desperate to play as much as possible as a result.
While the results do not matter for Liverpool, it would benefit Elliott to get a chance alongside the stronger options in the middle of the pitch. If he doesn’t get another go, the speculation around his future will only increase ahead of the summer, when he could have a big decision to make.
We won’t learn that much from the final two games in terms of what happens on the field and the scoreline. For Slot, though, there are still some big calls to be made that could significantly shape the narrative.
