Arne Slot makes Jarell Quansah feelings clear after second brutal Liverpool substitution
Jarell Quansah had a couple of tough moments during Liverpool's Carabao Cup win at Brighton and the defender was replaced by Ibrahima Konate before the evening was up
by Tom Victor · The MirrorLiverpool manager Arne Slot praised Jarell Quansah despite taking the defender out of the firing line before the end of Wednesday's Carabao Cup win at Brighton.
England international Quansah started Slot's first Premier League match against Ipswich, but made way for Ibrahima Konate at half-time and hasn't been able to displace the Frenchman in the Premier League since. The 21-year-old has played just twice since, with both outings coming in the cup, and he hasn't had the best of times.
First came an unfortunate own goal against West Ham in round three, though Liverpool came from behind to win that game 5-1. There was another painful moment on Wednesday, when Quansah attempted to block Tariq Lamptey's shot but ended up deflecting the ball beyond Reds keeper Vitezslav Jaros.
Quansah was withdrawn for Konate not long after that as Liverpool clung on to a 3-2 advantage, having earlier given the ball away in the lead up to Brighton's opener. Nevertheless, Slot was in no mood to criticise the centre-back.
“If you play at a club like Liverpool you’ve got two quality players for many positions,” Slot told reporters after the win. “And if you look at the way Joe Gomez played and also Jarell Quansah, who was maybe a bit unlucky with the goal we conceded, because his overall performance – from the both of them – I liked as well.
“So they’re in competition with Virgil [van Dijk] and Ibou [Konate], that’s what you have at Liverpool," Slot added. He also said he felt Quansah and Gomez helped young keeper Jaros i possession as his team looked to play out from the back.
Cody Gakpo scored twice in Liverpool's win, with Luis Diaz also on target, ensuring Brighton scorers Lamptey and Simon Adingra ended up on the losing side. Slot's team will travel to Southampton in the quarter-finals, after the Premier League strugglers beat Championship side Stoke City on Tuesday.
Did Jarell Quansah impress you against Brighton? Have your say in the comments section
Quansah responded to his tough 45 minutes against Ipswich in August by winning man of the match for England's Under-21 team the following month. Speaking after that accolade, he admitted the setback at Portman Road had spurred him on.
"It's given me a kick up the backside, you could say," the youngster said. "I'll keep grafting on the training pitch and that's all it is. It's never a nice feeling as a footballer to be subbed off at half-time but at the end of the day it was the gaffer's decision and it was the right one.
"It obviously worked because we won, so I can only focus on myself, improve myself, kick forward and move on to the next game. I'm staying ready for whenever it comes."
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