Some Liverpool journalists believe that Jurgen Klopp has made one ‘bold call’ in his starting line-up for the Reds’ clash against Crystal Palace today.
The standout inclusion in the XI among five changes from midweek is the return of Alisson Becker after his hamstring injury, although Jarell Quansah is also an eye-catching starter among two alterations to the defence.
In the Liverpool Echo‘s live matchday blog, Ian Doyle wrote in his initial reaction to the team news being announced (11:32): “It’s a surprise Quansah has been given the nod at centre-back.”
A few minutes later, his colleague Theo Squires gave a lengthier verdict on the 20-year-old being given the nod to start, writing (11:38): “Quansah hasn’t let anyone down when selected but, as Doyle suggests, it is a bold call. He’s another you would expect to start against Union SG on Thursday.
“Given Liverpool have just lost Matip for the season, perhaps Klopp is wanting to take no risks with Konate and Gomez with both having started on Wednesday night. Yet the England Under-21s international is one reason why Klopp was dismissive of the suggestion he should sign a new centre-back at yesterday’s press conference. Time to reward his manager’s faith.”
There mightn’t have been too many Liverpool fans expecting Quansah to be given just his second Premier League start for a banana skin of an away fixture, but there’s plenty of logic to Klopp’s decision to field the youngster today.
This is the Reds’ third match since Sunday, and their second in less than 72 hours, so the manager is clearly keen to implement as much rotation as possible so as to keep his squad fresh amid a hectic period.
As Squires referenced, both Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez started against Sheffield United on Wednesday, and neither has a glowing injury record, so it makes sense to manage their minutes, especially after the horrific ACL setback to Joel Matip.
Also, it must be noted that Quansah has never let Liverpool down since breaking into the senior setup at the outset of the campaign. Indeed, the 20-year-old was one of the Reds’ best performers in his most recent outing, the 4-0 win over LASK in the Europa League at the end of November.
Palace have only scored twice in their last three matches and have taken one point from the last 12 available, so Klopp might feel that the youngster has enough about him to successfully partner Virgil van Dijk, who’s the perfect man to talk him through the game if needed.
The 56-year-old has long since done enough to earn our trust and go with the starting XI that he thinks is best. We’ve every confidence that the young defender can repay his manager’s faith this afternoon.
Yearh,I just love that kid!