How disappointed Jarell Quansah reacted after Diogo Jota’s goal against Ipswich Town
Jarell Quansah was replaced by Ibrahima Konate at half-time
Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah had mixed feelings as he sat in the dugout while his teammates stood to applaud Diogo Jota’s goal against Ipswich.
The 21-year-old, who had his head resting in his hands, gazed into the distance, seemingly preoccupied with what had happened 15 minutes before Jota’s strike on the hour mark.
In his first game in charge, Arne Slot decided to substitute the young central defender at halftime, bringing on Ibrahima Konate at Portman Road.
The change proved effective, as Liverpool scored two goals in the second half to secure a 3-0 victory, marking Slot’s first Premier League match.
Jarell Quansah might be concerned that he has missed his chance to secure a place in his new manager’s starting XI.
He may now need to displace Konate to partner Virgil van Dijk in the heart of the defence.
Following the game, Slot indicated that Quansah was not solely to blame for Liverpool’s struggles.
The team as a whole struggled to win duels against the Championship runners-up, leaving the Dutchman with mixed feelings about his debut match.
Asked if he enjoyed his first Premier League game, Slot told TNT Sports: “Depends on which half you ask me about.
“The first taste in the first half was maybe as expected, because they were all on top of us and very aggressive.
“We couldn’t find the rhythm and we couldn’t find the balls in behind. But the second half was a joy to watch.”
Slot added: “The first thing I said was we don’t have to speak about tactics if you lose so many duels, and that’s what we did.
“It’s not that Jarell lost every duel, many of us lost too many duels, so we needed Konate to win these long balls in the air towards their No.9 (Delap), so that helped and gave us control.
“But they put so, so much energy into the first half, running, fighting, playing all over the pitch one v one, and I don’t think they could keep up with that tempo in the second half.”
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