Arne Slot agrees with Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool star who needs 'more time' after Real Betis win

Arne Slot was largely happy with how his squad played against Real Betis on Friday but the Dutchman was left in agreement with former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp over one star who needs "more time".

Slot used 23 players in yesterday's Stateside clash at the Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh as he gave all but one of the squad a run-out, yet some failed to take their opportunity with a few nervy performances on display.

Of course, that is only natural in the first (official) game of pre-season , with players still building up fitness and getting back into a routine. However, following three weeks of pre-season training, it can be argued that the majority would have been expected to be better with the ball at their feet.

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One player, in particular, who perhaps stood out for the wrong reasons was 19-year-old midfielder Stefan Bajcetic , who had initially impressed the Anfield faithful during his breakthrough campaign two seasons ago. Throughout the 2022-23 campaign, the teenager made 19 appearances across all competitions, scoring once.

Last season, the Spaniard managed just three appearances for the first-team following a lengthy spell out with injury. When he did make his return with a cameo in the 4-2 victory over Tottenham in May, even Klopp admitted he may have done things different;y as Bajcetic lacked match sharpness.

A few months later, and it appears Slot has also come to the same conclusion. After coming on as a 64th minute substitute, Bajcetic was caught in possession a couple of times and looked sloppy, although to be fair to the youngster he did improve as the game went on.

Speaking on the Spaniard in Friday's post-match interview, Slot said: “I think you have to take into account with Stefan that he was out for a year, one-and-a-half years almost. So if a young player is out for that long, you have to give him some time.

“But I saw today already a few good moments from him and also a few moments where he got caught because he acted a bit too slow. But I think that’s normal if you’ve been out for such a long time [and] then you need rhythm, you need game time to grow even further."

He added: “But I think he showed some good moments during the half-hour that he played.”

Thankfully, there will be plenty more opportunities for Bajcetic to not only impress, but to build up his match fitness and confidence on the ball. The Reds still have two more games to play on their tour of the United States, with a friendly against Sevilla at Anfield also still to come before the new campaign kicks-off.

However, with Dominik Szoboszlai , Alexis Mac Allister , Ryan Gravenberch , Wataru Endo , Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott also battling for a place in midfield, Bajcetic has his work cut out to regain a place in the starting XI. With this in mind, it is likely he will be given more minutes for the Under-21's to keep him up to pace with the rest of the squad.