Arne Slot had made just one change to his starting line-up for the trip to San Siro. He has now explained why he opted for two changes to his starting line-up against AC Milan.

There is a lot of pressure on the Dutchman to rotate his team given the busy schedule, and the defeat to Nottingham Forest is seen as a harsh lesson.

Many had hoped and expected a number of changes at the Reds, but Slot settled for two: Kostas Tsimikas and Cody Gakpo replaced Andy Robertson and Luis Diaz.

Slot explained his pre-match reasoning to Prime Video, saying: “I think I made changes in my first four matches as well, but they were mainly in-match changes.

“Macca was one of those who came back from the international team, without injury, but he didn’t play his last game (for Argentina).”

Mac Allister came on as a substitute for Argentina after missing training with an adductor injury.

“It’s about managing minutes,” Slot continued. “The others are doing really well, and I have more than 11 good players, so today it’s Cody and Kostas.”

It is interesting that Slot mentioned Alexis Mac Allister’s fitness issues but has played him twice since returning from his Argentina stint.

As for his expectations for Tsimikas and Gakpo in their first starts of the season, he stressed that they must play their “team role”.

He said: “(I want) similar things that I want to see from the others. It’s not about them, it’s about the team.

“They just have to fill their team roles as best they can, and if they do that, hopefully one of them can provide the extra quality, whether it’s Cody or Kostas or one of the others who starts. I don’t care.

“It’s about them doing what they need to do for the team. Hopefully that will also get the best individual performances out of them.”

Slot has 12 players on the bench against AC Milan, including Federico Chiesa, who could make his Liverpool debut after watching the last two games from the stands.