Manchester United legend Gary Neville has claimed new Liverpool manager Arne Slot was “quite tough” on Jarell Quansah in the Premier League opener at Ipswich Town. According to Neville, Slot’s handling of the situation showed he was not afraid to make a bold call even at his new job.
How Did Arne Slot Handle Jarell Quansah?
Liverpool took on Ipswich Town in their Premier League opener on Saturday, August 17. Despite fielding a strong XI, the Merseysiders could not stamp their authority on the game, struggling to make inroads into dangerous areas. After a goalless first half, Slot substituted center-back Quansah at halftime, bringing on Ibrahima Konate in his place. According to The Mirror, the 21-year-old center-back showed signs of frustration after his substitution.
Explaining why he hooked Quansah at halftime, Slot said:
“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.”
The second half was considerably better for Liverpool, as they moved the ball around with urgency and got the breakthrough through Diogo Jota in the 60th minute. Five minutes later, Salah found the back of the net, helping Liverpool to a 2-0 win.
Gary Neville Thinks The New Liverpool Boss Is ‘Brutal’
Assessing Slot’s first game as Liverpool manager, ex-Manchester United man Neville said (via The Mirror):
“Arne Slot was quite tough on Quansah. Subbing someone at half time is big and I don’t think it’s done lightly by managers.
“It was the way in which after the game he was quite blunt about how he answered it. There was no holding back.”
He added:
“So I think there’s an element there of him being quite clinical and brutal and saying he’s reacting to the game and what was happening. Felt like they needed to win the duels, I think that was his main thread behind the decision and it worked. You’ve got to say in the second half Liverpool were a lot better and it was a good win for them.”
Liverpool will return to Premier League action with a clash against Brentford on Sunday, August 25.
