Liverpool head coach Arne Slot saw his team leaked before Sunday's clash against Tottenham Hotspur – an issue which led to investigations at Manchester United and Chelsea. Social media posts on X over the weekend stated that Mohamed Salah and Hugo Ekitike would be dropped for the Premier League fixture against Spurs at Anfield.
It was also widely posted that Jeremie Frimpong, Cody Gakpo and Rio Ngumoha would start as a front three against Igor Tudor's side. Those posts were confirmed around an hour before kick-off when news of Slot's team emerged.
And the Dutchman saw his changes backfire with Dominik Szoboszlai's first-half free-kick cancelled out by Richarlison's 90th-minute equaliser to rescue a point for relegation-threatened Tottenham. Sunday's result has dealt a major blow to Liverpool's top-four hopes, although they do remain fifth, which is likely to secure Champions League football for next season.
But there will be concern on Merseyside that Slot's team leaked. Rivals Manchester United have regularly encountered similar issues and launched an internal investigation to try and find out how Michael Carrick's starting XI against Manchester City in January was revealed online before kick-off.
Former Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho also suffered with the problem at Old Trafford and publicly acknowledged it by making a quip in a press conference before the 2018 FA Cup final. Ruben Amorim encountered similar issues before he was sacked in January.
Chelsea were another team to encounter problems, with Blues head coach Liam Rosenior claiming he will "get to the bottom of it" after being made aware of potential team leaks within their camp before last week's defeat at Paris Saint-Germain.
The press got hold of Chelsea's starting XI, and it was doing the rounds by midday last Wednesday – eight hours before kick-off at the Parc des Princes. Chelsea went on to lose the first leg in Paris 5-2.
Slot has not directly addressed the team leaks, but he did admit he does not blame Liverpool fans for venting their frustration after his team were booed off at Anfield on Sunday.
He said: “I think it's understandable for fans to be frustrated because it has happened so many times that they have seen the home team not picking up the points they are expecting, us conceding goals in the last minute.
“Now it is up to us to bring that frustration to Wednesday and come up with a big performance because we are all frustrated.
"That is completely clear.
“It is now up to me and the players to take that frustration to Wednesday evening and show the fans the performance and the result they deserve because they have been supportive throughout the whole season to us.
“If it happens so many times that they are frustrated in the end of the game or after the final whistle, that makes complete sense to me.”
