Jamie Redknapp hits out at Arne Slot's 'BIG mistake' following Liverpool's crushing defeat by Crystal Palace as boss bemoans lack of depth despite £450m summer spend

Jamie Redknapp has criticised Arne Slot for his 'big mistake' after Liverpool's 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat by Crystal Palace to make it six losses in seven for the English champions.

An Ismaila Sarr brace was followed by a Yeremy Pino strike after Oliver Glasner put out a strong side to beat the Reds for a third time this season after wins in the Community Shield and Premier League.

Liverpool made 10 changes with two debutants and three teenagers with most senior stars not even on the substitutes' bench.

While Slot remained steadfast in his decision to draft in the club's youngsters, former Reds favourite Jamie Redknapp labelled the call a ' big mistake'. 

'It was the wrong team, make no mistake,' he said on Sky Sports post-match. '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.' 

Meanwhile, Slot defended his decision and cited the increased load on his struggling stars in recent weeks, saying: 'It is the same (kind of) selection I did last season in rounds like this.

'There are many reasons why we lost six out of seven, none of them are good enough (excuses) to lose so many. If I look at our performance against Brentford two days after we played Frankfurt away, I saw there a team that struggled to play three games in a week.

'Again no excuse. But in two days we play (against Aston) Villa, the last time I played a player that we thought was ready to play for a programme but was not was Alexander Isak and he got injured, in the last round Giovanni Leoni went out injured and Hugo Ekitike got sent off.

'We only have 16-17 players available. To add to that, this club has always used this competition for academy players. It felt like to me the right decision and I have not changed that opinion after the result.'

Slot added: 'I saw Man City's XI and they didn't have one starter from the weekend but it felt like their best XI. That is a bit of an insight. Chelsea can bring Estevao in. After I made two substitutions tonight, we had six teenagers. 

Glasner, whose team won the FA Cup last season, made five changes but still had a strong team that saw Jean-Philippe Mateta come on at half-time.

The Austrian boss, who is also juggling a Europa Conference League campaign, said he will always pick strong teams if the players do not specifically ask for a rest. 'I don't know, it is my mindset,' he said.

'I didn't like at the beginning as though we saw their starting line-up and thought it was easier. In the first 15 minutes we didn't show our standard. I have to be not too harsh with the players but I am always a perfectionist (with line-ups).

'We saw Arne Slot's decision and it is disrespectful to all their players to say it is weak.

'Joe Gomez won the Champions League and Premier League with them, Wataru Endo has a lot of games for Japan, Alexis Mac Allister won the World Cup, Milos Kerkez who cost £45million, Federico Chiesa, Italy. I think it would be disrespectful if we say it is weak.'

Liverpool host Aston Villa at Anfield on Sunday and are expecting to have Ryan Gravenberch back fit. Alexander Isak and Curtis Jones are doubts for the game, though, with Alisson and Jeremie Frimpong also remaining on the sidelines.