Liverpool are through to the FIFA Club World Cup final after beating Monterrey on Wednesday.

But they had to essentially sacrifice the Carabao Cup, given the proximity of their quarter-final against Aston Villa and Wednesday's World Cup semi-final.

Speaking on Off The Ball, Ireland and Leeds legend John Giles questioned the necessity of Liverpool sending their first team to Qatar.

"I have to ask, what are Liverpool doing over there?" he said.

"They had to play the kids [in the League Cup] and the kids did well for a long time as we know against Villa.

Big Trophy

"But they've gone out of the competition. They could have been going into the semi-finals of the League Cup, being one of the favourites to win it.

"It seems ridiculous that a club like Liverpool are going to forfeit what is the old League Cup which is still a big trophy. I know it's one of the major trophies, but it's still a big trophy.

"Then they go over to play in actually what is a really Mickey Mouse competition. This is a make-up competition very far from home to be playing in, in my opinion."

He also added: "Are they really going to be the best cup team in the world because they're playing two matches? They'll play and they'll give everything they've got. But they did sacrifice the possibility of playing in the semi-final of the League Cup."

You can also watch the full chat with John Giles above via our YouTube channel. He also picked his standout Ireland and Premier League moments from the decade as well as Kevin De Bruyne. Plus, he also discussed what Mikel Arteta needs to do once Arsenal confirm him as their next manager.