Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann has questioned why Brendan Rodgers would drop club captain Steven Gerrard as the Reds lost 1-0 to Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Rodgers made seven changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Newcastle United on Saturday with Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson also dropping to the bench alongside Gerrard and out-of-form striker Mario Balotelli also left out with a view to the club's upcoming clash at Anfield against Premier League leaders Chelsea on Saturday.
Hamann, who won the Champions League alongside Gerrard in 2005 with Liverpool, wondered if Rodgers got his priorities right in this case although was impressed by the way young players like Emre Can and Lazar Markovic stepped up against the European champions.
"It would be interesting to know if he did speak to his captain to leave him out, because I can imagine he wasn't too impressed because you're not sure if they will get in the top four this season, so it may have been the last time he goes to the Bernabeu," Hamann told Sky Sports.
"To play there is the ultimate experience, so it would be interesting to know whether he did speak to him before the game, or even ask him whether he is OK with leaving him out.
"He thought they are going to Madrid and are going to get beat anyway. You may say it's negative, but you give them [the younger players] a run out, give them a bit of confidence, which they got by that defeat -- they can leave the Bernabeu with their heads held high."
Meanwhile, Paul Scholes insisted that Gerrard would have been far from happy to find himself rested for one of the biggest games of the season.
"I think that's probably why he gave up international football, to play in games like this," he told ITV. "I don't think he'll be happy tonight.
"I think Steven Gerrard is capable of playing in this game and on Saturday (against Chelsea). It is Tuesday night, he'll have two-day recovery, train Friday, play Saturday and he's got a nice little two weeks off."