Jarell Quansah was withdrawn at half time at Ipswich and Arne Slot has explained the reason he did not see out the first Premier League game of the season.
The 21-year-old was named in the starting XI at Portman Road, selected ahead of Ibrahima Konate after a strong pre-season.
But Quansah did not emerge after the half-time break, with Konate taking his place next to Virgil van Dijk instead – an odd first substitute on the face of it.
Konate had been warming up on the touchline before the first 45 minutes had concluded and Quansah cut a disappointed figure on the bench when the camera cut to him.
On the substitution, Slot explained that it was a tactical change, saying: “First thing I said was we don’t have to speak about tactics if we lose so many duels and that’s what we did.
“That’s not that Jarell lost every duel – many of us lost too many duels – but I think we needed Ibou Konate to win these long balls in the air from the No. 9.
“So that helps, that gave us control but they put so, so, so much energy in the first half.”
FotMob tells us that Quansah won half of his eight duels on Saturday, including two successful aerial duels from four attempted.
During Konate’s time on the pitch, he managed to win three of his four aerial duels.
“The second half was a joy to watch”
Arne Slot reflects on his Liverpool side’s first Premier League game of the season ?
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“We lost almost every long ball, every duel to both sides and in the second half we was ready,” Slot continued.
“I don’t think our problem in the first half was our midfield. I think our problem in the first half was more that we lost too many duels – our defenders lost too many and our attackers didn’t win enough.”
Having Konate on the pitch also allowed Trent Alexander-Arnold to influence the game more, as he played something closer to his inverted role of last season.
Quansah is clearly the better player with the ball at his feet but for more physical tests, Slot could turn to the Frenchman this season.
Next up for Liverpool is a home match against Brentford, a game in which they will be expected to control possession.
Ipswich 0-2 Liverpool
