Van Dijk Liverpool rival reveals clear TRUTH

Liverpool emerged victorious in their Carabao Cup tie against Brighton on Wednesday despite fielding a weakened side.

The Reds’ returned to Merseyside with a 3-2 victory, setting them up for a quarter-final tie against Southampton, and there were many takeaways from the clash on the coast.

Vitezslav Jaros was a standout performer for Arne Slot’s makeshift XI and Cody Gakpo continued his fine League Cup form, but another name that was on the tongues of many Liverpool supporters at full-time was Jarell Quansah.

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The 21-year-old central defender made his third start of the season on Wednesday night and it was once again a mixed performance from the man who had effectively displaced Ibrahima Konate at the end of the last campaign.

Despite being involved in both Brighton goals, it wasn’t an awful performance for Quansah, and there are some positives to take away from the youngster’s game.

Quansah v Brighton

Although it was a lapse in concentration from Quansah that allowed Brighton back into the game with their first goal, his performance over the whole 90 minutes was pretty solid.

The young defender won both of his duels and also made the most recoveries and the most clearances for Liverpool in the match.

Brighton’s second goal, awarded to Tariq Lamptey, also took a big deflection off Quansah which left Jaros in an impossible position behind him.

Although it would be harsh to blame this goal entirely on Quansah, in combination with the first mistake it painted a dire picture for Liverpool’s no.78.

In the end, Quansah was replaced by Konate during injury time, a substitution that felt more like a message than a tactical adjustment.

Don’t give up hope on Quansah yet

Wednesday’s game and the late substitution will be a hard pill for Quansah to swallow, but it isn’t the first time that the defender has made an early exit from a match under Slot.

In the Reds’ Premier League opener against Ipswich, Quansah was replaced by Konate at half-time and the youngster has managed to bounce back from that.

Liverpool cannot afford to have defenders who frequently make mistakes in their back-line, but Quansah’s overall performance yesterday showed that he does have a lot to offer the Anfield side.

If Quansah can continue to improve under Slot, and can ensure that mistakes become less common, then he definitely has a future at Liverpool, but he must learn his lesson from Wednesday’s performance and seize the opportunity to impress next time it arises.

With the contract situation of Virgil van Dijk uncertain there could be a chance for Quansah to nail down a place in the starting XI next season but he must first prove to Slot that he is deserving of the opportunity.

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