Arne Slot produced a blunt response while explaining why Jarell Quansah was hooked at half-time against Ipswich Town.
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Liverpool had a lacklustre first-halfSlot called the shots at half-timeQuansah benched in favour of KonateWHAT HAPPENED?
Despite a challenging first half, Liverpool managed to secure a 2-0 victory over newly promoted Ipswich Town, thanks to second-half goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah. However, the conversation quickly shifted from the scoreline to Slot's rationale for pulling Quansah off the pitch at the interval, which left the defender visibly frustrated as he took his place on the bench after the two teams emerged from the tunnel.
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Slot, known for his no-nonsense approach, did not mince his words when asked if the change was tactical. He said: "Yep. First thing I said is we don't have to speak about tactics if we lose so many duels and that was what we did. 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 their No.9."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Quansah was frustrated at his manager's decision and eagle-eyed fans did not miss his reaction on the bench.
A Liverpool fan, @Watch_LFC, wrote on X: "Quansah was taken off purely because of performance… and he does not look happy at all on the bench."
While another supporter, @Tvya_97, asked: "Any update of Quansah? He looked devastated on the bench."
DID YOU KNOW?
Statistics provided by FotMob offer some insight into why Slot made the change. Quansah, who had been named in the starting XI after an impressive pre-season, won half of his eight duels during the match, including two successful aerial duels out of four attempts. While these numbers aren't disastrous, they evidently did not meet Slot’s expectations for the physical demands of the game. In contrast, Ibrahima Konate, who replaced Quansah at halftime, managed to win three of his four aerial duels. Konate's physicality and ability to dominate in the air provided Liverpool with the solidity they needed to stifle Ipswich's attacking threats.
