Liverpool set up their weekend Premier League clash against Brighton & Hove Albion by knocking the same opponents out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.
Arne Slot will be delighted, not least because he acquiesced to that little-known thing called rotation, something he has been loathe to enforce since taking the reins in the summer.
Brighton clawed back some purchase in the later stage, turning a routine victory into something more nerve-wracking, but Liverpool kept their nerve and won 3-2, Luis Diaz’s late strike sealing the fourth-round victory after an almighty Cody Gakpo brace.
Jarell Quansah was at the epicentre of the late-stage worries that started to show and will be dismayed that he failed to win Slot over after featuring so infrequently this season.
Jarell Quansah didn't take his chance
Quansah was shown a lot of faith in matchweek one, handed a starting berth alongside Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Ipswich Town.
The 21-year-old bloomed last season but was hooked at the interval on that August afternoon, with Slot frustrated with his new side’s lack of success in the duel. Liverpool ended up winning the game, and the 6 foot 5 youngster has not had a whiff of top-flight football since.
Against Brighton on the South Coast, he was largely solid alongside Joe Gomez but blundered toward the end, culpable for Simon Adringa’s goal after 80 minutes to halve the hosts’ deficit and raise concern in the Reds camp.
It was his botched back pass that led to the goal, and he indeed left the field prematurely, replaced by Ibrahima Konate in the final moments. It’s clear that he hasn’t won his new boss over just yet, but head up, young gun, there’s plenty of time left in his career to fine-tune his exciting skillset.
Let’s not forget that Quansah actually won both of his duels, as per Sofascore, and made four clearances, so one error must not allow seeds sown that convey the wrong message.
Certainly not when he wasn’t the worst defender in the backline yesterday evening. Andy Robertson flattered to deceive once again and is fast losing his grip on the first-choice left-back position.
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Robertson has been a stalwart and a half for Liverpool, arriving from Hull City for just an £8m fee in 2017, producing performances across many years that became inherent to the illustrious system.
Father time comes for us all, though, and Robertson, while only 30, appears to have run himself to the ground over years of indefatigable showings on Merseyside. He endured a tough 2023/24 campaign, missing a large chunk due to a shoulder injury, and has failed to produce his finest football under Slot’s wing.
Against Brighton, the Scotland skipper was flappy and hungered upon by the fleet-footed Tariq Lamptey, making the same mistake as he did against Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka last weekend.
Minutes played
90′
Shots (on target)
1 (1)
Touches
86
Accurate passes
59/67 (88%)
Key passes
1
Dribbles (completed)
0 (0)
Tackles
1
Clearances
4
Total duels (won)
7 (1)
Dribbled past
4x
The Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle did hand him a 6/10 match score, noting that he had some ‘hesitant defending allied to some strong attacking’, but with Slot so particular about the strength of his squad’s defensive actions, he will not be impressed to see that Robertson lost 86% of his duels.
Gone are Robertson’s days of barnstorming, rip-roaring, defender-flooring. His faculty for ball-carrying has deserted him, actually averaging just 0.2 dribbles per Premier League game this term, failing to even attempt one against the Seagulls.
He has an able deputy in Kostas Tsimikas who has sauntered into a role of greater significance in recent weeks, but there’s no detracting from the fact that left-back will be a priority position in the transfer windows to come.
For now, Robertson will continue to see plenty of minutes for Liverpool, but he’s on the decline and did himself no favours on Wednesday evening.
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