Darwin Nunez travelled with Liverpool for their final Champions League but was not named in the matchday squad, and the reason has now been explained.
Arne Slot left nine first-team players behind on Merseyside for the clash at PSV, but Darwin Nunez was one of a handful of senior options to board the plane to Eindhoven.
He was expected to lead the attack but upon the release of the teamsheet he was notably absent.
Merseyside reporters, including David Lynch, were quick to report that the Uruguayan pulled out due to illness – the second time he has done so this season.
Instead, Federico Chiesa and Cody Gakpo start in attack alongside 19-year-old Jayden Danns, who makes his full debut for Liverpool.
In fact, as per Opta’s Michael Reid, Danns is the youngest player ever to make his first start for the club in a European Cup/Champions League game (19 years and 13 days).
Slot made nine changes in total from midweek, retaining only Gakpo and Andy Robertson from the side that beat Ipswich over the weekend.
With so many senior players left behind in Liverpool, the Reds have a young nine-man bench – it includes Amara Nallo (18), Trey Nyoni (17), Kieran Morrison (18) and Trent Kone-Doherty (18).
Explaining the mass rotation, Slot told reporters on Tuesday: “All the players left behind could have played tomorrow. But for the long-term, it doesn’t tell us anything about the short-term or Saturday.
“If you look back at our season it’s always been after four, five weeks we gave them the break during the week. If there was a moment for them to get some freshness back we’ve always done that.”
