Jarell Quansah proves Arne Slot wrong in Liverpool win v Lille
Liverpool star Jarell Quansah proved Arne Slot wrong in the 2-1 Champions League victory over Lille on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a remarkable breakout campaign last season under Jurgen Klopp, starting 27 matches in all competitions for the Reds and forming a formidable duo with Virgil van Dijk.
However, the England Under-21 international has struggled since Slot was appointed, starting just seven times this campaign before the clash with the French side.
However, on his first start in the Champions League, he reminded the Dutchman exactly why he is so highly rated on Merseyside with a bounce-back performance.
Quansah shines in rare Liverpool opportunity
After his performances last season, the Reds ace was included in Gareth Southgate’s preliminary squad for the European Championships but did not make the final 26-man squad.
The academy graduate seemed set to continue that progress, starting in Slot’s first match in charge against Ipswich but was replaced by Ibrahima Konate at half-time with his manager unhappy with his performance.
Since then he has fallen behind the Frenchman and Joe Gomez in the pecking order at Anfield with most of his game time coming in the domestic cups.
After Konate was injured in the 2-0 win over Real Madrid in November, Gomez was preferred to the young ace and when Gomez suffered a hamstring problem in the 5-0 win over West Ham in December, Konate had returned and was thrown straight back into the team despite not being fully fit.
However, at Anfield on Tuesday, Quansah responded with a standout performance as the Reds took a huge step towards top spot in the new Champions League league phase.
The 21-year-old was composed on the ball in the clash, taking 111 touches, making four passes into the final third and completing the most passes in the contest with 99, for a 96 per cent success rate. [Fotmob]
He also won the two duels that he contested, one on the ground, one in the air for a 100 per success rate and made five clearances and five recoveries.
Quansah still has a long way to go to become a fixture of Slot’s starting line-up but it was an encouraging display after a tough few months.
Given the fact Konate and Gomez are incredibly injury-prone, he will likely be handed more opportunities to prove himself in the second half of the season.
He will play his part in helping the Reds challenge for four major honours this season, he may just have to bide his time.
In other Liverpool news, the price that the Reds will have to pay for Milos Kerkez has been revealed.
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