Arne Slot defends Jarell Quansah after second brutal Liverpool snub
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has defended Jarell Quansah after he substituted the defender when he made a mistake in the Carabao Cup clash with Brighton on Wednesday
by Chris McKenna · The MirrorArne Slot defended Jarell Quansah despite hauling him off late on against Brighton.
The Liverpool manager decided to substitute the 21-year-old centre back amid a late horror show from him in the Carabao Cup win at the Amex Stadium. Quansah gave the ball away for Brighton’s first goal and he came off just after their second deflected in off him as the Seagulls tried to get a late equaliser.
It is not the first time that the Liverpool head coach has taken off the defender as he substituted him at half-time of their opening Premier League game against Ipswich. He also scored an own goal on his other start this season but it was Wataru Endo's fault as he booted the ball in off the defender during the 5-1 League Cup win over West Ham.
But Slot is impressed by the young defender, who is just in the first team for the second season in a row, and just needs him to cut out the mistakes. Slot said: “I think Jarell played a very good game, the only issue he has at the moment is that if he has a moment that is not perfect, it immediately leads to a goal.
“That’s what happened in this game. In my opinion he was unlucky. I know you can't judge and leave those two moments out because they were so vital towards the result, but he is getting better and better and better, and he was already really good.
“For him, it’s that last step maybe to make. He has already shown in the past that he can play a game without these small mistakes. So he is in a bit of an unlucky period when it comes to if he makes a small mistake, it immediately leads to a goal.
“But if you look at his overall performance, I really liked what I saw. He was confident on the ball, also when we conceded that one. It was not out of, ‘Oh, I’m afraid to make a decision.’ It’s just by taking initiative, and these things can happen in my opinion.
“I like the way he played. He was a bit unlucky with the second goal as well. But for me, that was not his game. I would not say he is not able to play in the upcoming days or weeks. He is definitely in competition with two centre-backs that are hardly making any mistakes at the moment.
“But apart from the mistakes, I think he played similar to Virgil [van Dijk] and Ibou [Konate], with a lot of confidence playing the ball out from the back and defending really well. For me it was a good performance but a bit unlucky in the end.”
Slot’s side take on Brighton on Saturday again but this time in the Premier League and the Dutch boss is impressed by the Seagulls and their football. He watched a lot of them when Roberto de Zerbi was the manager, in particular Alexis Mac Allister’s final season at the club.
That’s why he is well aware the Argentina international can play multiple roles in his midfield. He added: “He’s a player I would maybe play all three positions in midfield because he’s so comfortable in all three.
“I think I saw quite a lot of him at Brighton because there was a manager who I was quite interested in back then - that was De Zerbi, of course. I saw him a lot playing double six there and in some moments, he played as a 10. He can play both.
“It depends how dominant we are if he is the second No.10 or has to be the second No.6. He can help a lot with us bringing the ball out from the back and is also capable of making the difference in and around the 18-yard box. We like to see him in both situations as both as we can.”
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