Liverpool’s early exit from the Carabao Cup continues to divide opinion, but one former England international believes our boss made the right call.Richards backs Slot’s Liverpool rotation(Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Micah Richards offered a rare defence of Arne Slot’s selection against Crystal Palace, despite widespread criticism from the likes of Jamie Redknapp and John Aldridge.“I actually think it was the right decision,” Richards said. “I know they’ve been through a difficult time, but the fact is the League Cup compared to the Premier League and Champions League, it’s not as big if we’re all being honest.”The 37-year-old’s comments came after Gary Lineker highlighted how unrecognisable our bench looked at Anfield.Richards acknowledged that while some bigger names could have been included “for a little bit of confidence,” he stood by the Dutchman’s rotation.It’s a stance that contrasts sharply with Redknapp’s view, who insisted that the heavily rotated team “was never going to be good enough to beat Palace,” and Aldridge’s post on X questioning the logic of fielding such a youthful line-up.Liverpool face pivotal week after Palace defeat(Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)Our head coach rested seven senior players ahead of Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City – a brutal 8-day stretch that will define the coming weeks.The defeat was Liverpool’s sixth in seven games, but Slot has remained calm, insisting he “had to take care” of certain players.Given the injury list and fixture congestion, Richards’ defence feels timely. Few can question the logic of protecting key players like Mo Salah and Florian Wirtz, when three competitions still hang in the balance.That strategy also explains why the likes of Rio Ngumoha and Kieran Morrison were trusted against Palace.And with confirmation that Ryan Gravenberch is set to return to the squad, this all means we should soon be in better shape.Richards’ message is clear – keep perspective, trust the process, and save the fight for where it truly matters.You can view Richards’ comments on Slot via The Rest Is Football on YouTube:You can watch Slot’s full pre-Aston Villa press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:Join our channel of readers on WhatsApp to get the day’s top stories straight to your mobileThe post Micah Richards defends Arne Slot after Crystal Palace loss appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.