Though Arne Slot‘s treatment of Jarell Quansah after two costly moments against Brighton could be seen as brutal, the Liverpool coach praised his centre-back.
Quansah gave the ball away cheaply in the buildup to Simon Adingra’s strike at the Amex, before Tariq Lamptey’s effort deflected off his foot and in for another.
Fortunately, it meant for little, as Liverpool were able to hold on for a 3-2 and a place in the quarter-finals against Southampton.
But for Quansah, it will have been a chastening night, with the 21-year-old substituted almost immediately after Lamptey’s goal as Slot sent on Ibrahima Konate in his place with four minutes of stoppage time left to play.
It has been viewed as harsh treatment from a head coach who also brought the youngster off at half-time on the opening day of the season at Ipswich.
Speaking after the game, however, Slot made no mention of the decision and instead praised Quansah on a number of occasions.
“If you play at a club like Liverpool you’ve got two quality players for many positions,” he told reporters in his post-match press conference.
“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 and Ibou, that’s what you have at Liverpool.”
Slot later added: “It helped also for [debuting goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros] the quality Jarell Quansah and Joe Gomez brought in the buildup.
“I liked that triangle today a lot in ball possession.”
The Dutchman made a similar assessment as he spoke to LFCTV on the side of the pitch after the game, holding Quansah and Gomez up as integral to Liverpool’s play.
“We changed a few players, but to see how comfortable they played and how well they played with a similar style as the others was what pleased me most,” he said.
“I think Vit Jaros was of course outstanding, not only in making saves but also playing out from the back, but that goes as well for Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah, who were showing character and showing quality in buildup.”
It was clear that Slot was aware of the circumstances around his No. 78, who cut a glum figure as he made his way off the pitch late on.
But there is no suggestion that he will have given up with Quansah, only that the centre-back pecking order remains established with Konate and Virgil van Dijk first choice.
