Jarell Quansah sees history ruthlessly repeat itself as Arne Slot acts after Liverpool howler

Jarell Quansah was taken off during the closing minutes of Liverpool's EFL Cup win over Brighton after he inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net to set up a potentially nervy finish at the AMEX Stadium.

Quansah lined up in the center of Liverpool's defense alongside Joe Gomez but did not complete the match after being replaced in injury time as Arne Slot looked to shore up his backline.

The 21-year-old was taken off just minutes after Tariq Lamptey's tame shot from distance was diverted past Vitezslav Jaros by Quansah, who was trying to block the shot.

It is not clear whether Slot was already planning to replace Quansah or whether he did so over fears that the youngster could contribute to Liverpool potentially conceding an equaliser in injury time.

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Quansah is having a disappointing season on a personal level, having appeared in just two matches since the opening weekend of the Premier League season, when he was hooked at half-time of Liverpool's game against Ipswich Town.

On that occasion, it was initially suspected that Quansah might have picked up a first-half injury, but Slot confirmed that the decision was influenced by his performance. Slot said in August: "We don't need to talk about tactics if we don't win our duels... We needed to do better in the first half. The second half was a joy to watch."

Quansah's only minutes since that game have come in the EFL Cup, with the 21-year-old an unused substitute in each of Liverpool's last eight Premier League games as well as all three of the club's Champions League matches.

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The youngster addressed his withdrawal against Ipswich during an interview with The Times in September, vowing to show his mental strength and bounce back. “Some players might go under [in that situation], but it’s a long season," Quansah said.

"It’s not like it’s happened at the end of the season and I’ve got a month off to think about it. I’ve got the whole season to try to prove myself. It’s better it happened now than at any other point in the season. It gives me a bit of a kick up the backside, you could say. I’ll keep grafting on the training pitch.”