Arne Slot has told Liverpool fans why he left star striker Alexander Isak on the bench for the Merseyside derby against Everton.

The first showdown of the season between these two adversaries occurred on Saturday midday, as the Reds aimed to preserve their flawless record, while David Moyes sought his first managerial win at Anfield.

Liverpool supporters were puzzled about the starting lineup from an almost fully-fit squad, and shortly after 11am, it was revealed that over £250 million worth of talent would be seated on the sidelines.

Isak has been working to regain full fitness since going on strike to facilitate his transfer from Newcastle to Liverpool in the summer. Meanwhile, Wirtz had appeared in every match leading up to this game, and Frimpong was recently injured, leading to Conor Bradley’s selection at right back.

Slot, in an interview with TNT Sports, elaborated on his decision to bench Isak and Wirtz, choosing Dominik Szoboszlai and Hugo Ekitike for their usual roles instead.

Arne Slot has explained why he opted not to play Alexander Isak from the off against Everton

Florian Wirtz was also benched, despite starting every game for the club so far this season

Slot mentioned regarding Isak, who was a £125 million summer acquisition: ‘It wasn’t just about today, but all week. Against Atletico, neither Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] nor Conor Bradley played.’

‘Understanding that three matches in seven days, with the last being the most taxing, requires players prepared for the upcoming intensity, which guided our strategy across all the games.’

‘Normally when you don’t pick play a player… I don’t think there is any player who would make the same decision, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he [Isak] said it is the best choice for him not to start.

‘It is all to do with match fitness and him missing out on team sessions and only one game.’

On Wirtz, meanwhile, who the Reds splashed out £116m on from Bayern Leverkusen, Slot added: ‘It was the same as Macca vs Atletico. Three games in seven days, not in eight which is normal.

‘Early kick off, one of the most intense games we have to play so we tried to manage it and for today I think Dominik Szoboszlai, who played both the games too, is more used to the intensity of the Premier League.’

Slot had been coy on weather Isak would start against Everton in his pre-match press conference after playing nearly an hour against Madrid.

The Dutchman said: ‘I don’t think I tell the media a lot the day before the game how we (are going to) start. We had recovery sessions yesterday and let’s see how they all feel. Alex did feel his body more than ever before after the 60 minutes he played.

Jeremie Frimpong also found himself back on the bench after starting against Atletico Madrid

‘Let’s see how he has recovered today. We’re going to think about the line-up more today. We gave them a little bit of extra time to recover and one of the best ways to recover is sleep, as we all know. We had to play this week three times.’

Wirtz, meanwhile, has struggled for form since joining the Reds and is yet to pick up a goal or assist in his six games.

He has spoken about taking time to adapt to the league following his move from the Bundesliga, but lost his place for the derby.

Analysing the decision to leave Wirtz out for the first time this season, former Liverpool man Peter Crouch said: ‘It is difficult to adjust to coming to a different league, it is a difficult game. Arne Slot may have been going for a bit more steel – I totally get the decision.’

Frimpong, meanwhile, missed his side’s wins over Newcastle and Arsenal due to an injury he picked up early in the season, having scored on his debut.

After coming off the bench against Burnley, he managed nearly an hour after starting the win over Atletico Madrid, but found himself back on the bench against Saturday.

Bradley instead started the game, with Szoboszlai deputising in the position when Frimpong was out.