Arne Slot would have been right to breathe an almighty sigh of relief as the full-time whistle sounded on Liverpool’s win over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Reds have thrown two-goal leads away on four previous occasions this season, and it looked for all the world like they would do it again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Slot deserves little praise from the match despite the win. The Liverpool head coach set his team up in the most uninspiring way possible, and had Xavi Simons not been sent off in the first-half, the Reds would surely not have won this game.
Who was your Man of the Match during the tight win over Spurs?
Some of Slot‘s decision-making before and during the 90 minutes left a lot to be desired, with fans left genuinely scratching their heads at times.
The Dutchman left perhaps the most baffling of these choices until the 96th minute, when he bizarrely made up his mind that this was the moment to give Trey Nyoni his Premier League debut.
Trey Nyoni makes Premier League debut in strange circumstances
It has only been a matter of time before Nyoni tasted first team action in the Premier League. The 18-year-old has been in and around the squad for a long time.
With Wataru Endo currently injured, Nyoni is Slot’s only real midfield option from the bench just now.
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
Nevertheless, did his debut really need to come with Liverpool struggling to cling on against nine men in such an intense atmosphere?
There were certainly some tired legs out there for the Reds, and with Florian Wirtz cramping up, Slot knew he had to do something.
But why not stick Rio Ngumoha on for an out-ball, or bring the older, more experienced Calvin Ramsay on for a little more solidity at the back?
How concerned are you about Alexander Isak’s injury?
No, instead, Slot chose to throw in a completely untested young player and left him to find his way amid the chaos. We all want to see the Dutchman trust the Liverpool academy more, but this was not the time to do that.
Nyoni could play against Wolves
Along with missing Endo, Liverpool are now certain to be without Dominik Szoboszlai for next week’s clash with Wolves after the Hungarian picked up a booking on Saturday.
Szoboszlai will be suspended for the match at Anfield, leaving Slot with a dilemma in his midfield.
If they are all fit, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister will all play, while Florian Wirtz is an option as well.
Given that Alexander Isak is likely to be out injured, Cody Gakpo definitely will be and Mohamed Salah is away at the Africa Cup of Nations, Slot may decide to use Wirtz in the forward line instead.
This could leave the door open for Nyoni, who is next in line. Maybe Slot was simply preparing the former Leicester prospect for a first start and wanted to give him a quick taste of the action, but even if that was the case, his introduction against Spurs made little sense. Thankfully, Slot got away with it, but it does not make the decision any less strange.