The League Cup will always hold a special place in Jurgen Klopp’s managerial history at Liverpool.
The competition marked Klopp’s first Anfield final appearance as United manager in October 2015, with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth four months later. It has also given the Liverpool manager a platform to assess complaints from fringe players, hand out welcome minutes to those in need of game time and, perhaps most importantly, assess the progress of recent academy graduates.
Alexis McAllister became Klopp’s 96th player in 28 League Cup games when he came off the bench at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday.
Jarrell Quansah’s calm and composed performance in central defense was a major bonus of the evening. His nonchalant attitude in such a storm is hard to compare with the youngster making just his fourth start for Liverpool.
Every player is their own player and the 20-year-old is only just starting his career, but it was impossible to see him walking some of Liverpool’s centre-backs who rush to win the ball out of defence. region. His physique seems to have prepared him to consistently play at the highest level.
Quansah had 114 tackles during the game. That’s 39 more than the next player. This not only made him a target for Bournemouth’s attacks but also showed the confidence his team-mates had in using possession.
“He played very well with the ball,” said Klopp. “Caoimhin (Kelleher) thought clearly, give him a good ball and let’s see what we can do.” Quansah Also completed the most passes and made the most defensive plays for Liverpool. The defender can expect more first-team opportunities in the coming months. Liverpool still have three Europa League group stage games to play, a League Cup quarter-final against West Ham United before Christmas and the FA Cup just around the corner of the year.
Playing against this young man would be no gamble. But if there were no particular demands on Kwanzaa in Wednesday’s 2-1 win, the same could be said for other Liverpool players, with Klopp apparently using the game to test players in other positions.
Of course, Mohamed Salah stepped up as he was at the heart of Egypt’s surprise attack to open Liverpool’s League Cup fourth leg.
Cody Gakpo started on the left for the first time since February, with Dominic Szoboslai on the other side.It didn’t really work. There was good combination between the trio (especially Salah and Szoboslay on the right), but Gakpo stood out as a threat when he moved into his favored central area, his ability to spot targets evident in his quick reactions. The person who opens the ball.
Szoboszlai returned to midfield as a second-half substitute, while Salah returned to the right wing as Darwin introduced Nunes in the game-winner. Nunez was joined by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alexis McAllister shortly after the hour, with the defense unchanged, with Joe Gomez remaining at right-back, Alexander-Arnold leading the way with six despite being included regularly.
The conditions and Bournemouth’s pressure saw McAllister double and put Liverpool behind in the closing stages.But the position allowed Alexander-Arnold to get forward deliberately and it was nothing but strong defending that ended with a shot from Bournemouth goalkeeper Andrej Radu.
Of course, his pass from midfield picked out Nunez and provided the decisive moment of the game.
Alexander-Arnold’s cameo in midfield could easily get lost in the storm in the air and on the pitch, and he could benefit more from Klopp’s experience on the south coast in the long term. The League Cup remains important to the Liverpool manager.
