Liverpool were thankful to their fringe players on Sunday for helping them overcome a resolute Wolves team.
The Reds have had a clear starting 13 or 14 players this season, with others reduced to bit-part roles under Arne Slot.
Nevertheless, as the Premier League title race enters its final third, the Liverpool head coach must get wise to using these players more and more.
The clearest example of this comes with what Slot is asking from Wataru Endo this season.
Endo was excellent during his 20 minutes on the pitch against Wolves, helping to see the points over the line and even picking up the official Liverpool man of the match award.
The reason Endo’s performance stood out so much was in part because of what happened at Goodison Park on Wednesday, the last time Liverpool tried to see out a late, one goal lead. And the significance of having the Japan captain on the pitch this time should not have been lost on Slot.
Wataru Endo trend starts to emerge
Slot has done so much right since arriving at Anfield to replace Jurgen Klopp over the summer. There’s little question that he has been the correct man for the job.
However, one slight criticism of the Dutch coach could potentially be that he does not trust his whole Liverpool squad nearly as much as he should.
Endo has felt the sharp end of this, with the 32-year-old still yet to start a Premier League game this season. He has played 11 times, but rarely for longer than a few minutes.
When he has come on, Endo’s job has usually been to see out games and ensure Liverpool get the points, as he did one Sunday.
Endo also did this job to good effect at Anfield in November, coming on with 13 minutes left to play and the Reds 2-1 up against Brighton. The scoreline did not change that day, either.
Notably, the three times Liverpool have let leads slip late on this season – at Goodison, away at Newcastle and at home to Man United – Endo has remained on the bench with the Reds one goal up.
Arne Slot must trust Endo more
It does not feel like a coincidence that Liverpool conceded late goals from a winning position three times, with Endo left on the bench on each ocassion.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 25 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 60 | 24 | 36 | 60 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 51 | 22 | 29 | 53 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 25 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 41 | 29 | 12 | 47 |
| 4 |  Man CityManchester City | 25 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 52 | 35 | 17 | 44 |
Of course, no one can say for sure whether the No.3 could have changed anything, but had he come on with Liverpool 2-1 or 3-2 up against Everton, Newcastle or United, it feels probable that at least one of those results would have been salvaged.
In reality, it’s probably even likely that two or more would have been changed. Those two, four or six points could have made such a difference to the Reds this season.
Clearly, Liverpool are still in a brilliant position in the Premier League table regardless. But Slot must learn from this clear trend and ensure that if his team are defending a late lead, then Endo comes onto the pitch.
The boss may not have favoured Endo initially and it remains to be seen if he’s still a Liverpool player next year. But while he is, Slot must learn to trust the Japan captain to do his job. He’s very, very good at it.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
