Liverpool boss Arne Slot slams 21-year-old star, explains reason behind brutal half-time sub in 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town
Liverpool manager Arne Slot had stern words for Jarell Quansah after the Reds' 2-0 win over Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Saturday, August 17. The young defender was struggling to keep up, resulting in him being replaced by Ibrahima Konate at halftime.
Slot's men were struggling to break down the Ipswich defense in the first half. However, the breakthrough came when Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah played the ball across for Diogo Jota to sweep home in the 60th minute.
Salah himself added a goal five minutes later as Liverpool comfortably won Slot's first competitive game in charge of the club. However, one man who didn't have a solid outing was Quansah, who looked shaky in his 45 minutes on the pitch.
After the match, Slot explained his decision to substitute the youngster at half-time, saying (via Daily Mail):
''First thing I said - we don't have to speak about tactics if you lose so many duels. Jarell lost every duel, many of us lost too many duels. We needed Konate to win the long balls for the number nine. That gave us control. They put so much energy in the first half, keeping fighting, playing all over the pitch 1 vs 1, I don't think they could keep up that tempo in the second half."
When asked if the change was purely tactical, Slot replied with a simple answer:
"Yep."
Quansah attempted eight duels, winning two each of his air (50%) and ground (50%) duels. He committed two fouls but made two tackles, three clearances, an interception, and a block (stats via FotMob).
"We need to know his way" - Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah speaks out after scoring in Arne Slot's first competitive game
Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah spoke about new coach Arne Slot after his goal and assist secured a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town in his side's Premier League opener.
In a post-match interview with TNT Sports, the 32-year-old said he was happy to be able to contribute to the team's success. He also stated the players were getting adjusted to Slot's system after the Jurgen Kopp era.
Salah said (via Liverpool Echo):
"Jurgen (Klopp) was with the team for eight years, and gave everything, and now it’s a new manager, new system, it’s quite different for all of us, so we need to adapt, take it step by step, because some players also came late (after international commitments), so we need to know his way of playing and enjoy our football."
"We don't want to put more pressure on him (Slot), we just need to play football, enjoy our games, and see how it will end," Salah added.
Liverpool will next face Brentford in the league at Anfield on August 25.