Liverpool were forced into a change at half-time against Brighton after Ibrahima Konate was forced off injured.
The Reds were disappointing throughout the opening 45 minutes on Saturday, heading into the break 1-0 down.
To make matters worse, Konate went down right as the referee blew for the end of the half.
Konate has been immense so far this season and rightfully came back into the line-up for Saturday’s game after being rested in midweek.
Wednesday’s Carabao Cup match had seen Jarell Quansah partner Joe Gomez as Liverpool beat Brighton 3-2.
Quansah has been widely seen as Arne Slot’s third choice centre-back behind Konate and Virgil van Dijk this season. But when the Frenchman was forced off at Anfield, Slot turned to Gomez.
Arne Slot explains Joe Gomez decision
After being utilised mostly at left-back last season, it has been a while since we’ve seen Gomez get any kind of run in the centre of defence.
But, truth be told, this is still the 27-year-old’s best position.
And while Quansah is a prodigious talent, Gomez’s dominating performance against Brighton underlined why he is Liverpool’s third best centre-back.
Nevertheless, given how little he has played there, it was perhaps seen as a big call from Slot to go with the No.2 over Quansah.
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So, asked about the whole Konate situation in his post-match press conference, the Liverpool head coach explained himself.
“Lot of pain at half time, disappointment he had to go off,” Slot said on Konate. “Good thing is I have two very good options in Quansah and Gomez. Quansah was tired at the end of Brighton, so I felt I had to bring in someone fitter than Jarell was.
“Konate? Don’t know yet, not been to hospital yet,” the Dutch coach added. “He may not even have to go yet, it’s always too early to say just after the game.”
Joe Gomez set to start vs Bayer Leverkusen
To some, it will not have been a surprise at all to see Gomez come on over Quansah.
Quansah struggled against Brighton on Wednesday to the extent that Slot saw fit to remove him right at the end of the game.
So, with that in mind, it was perhaps natural that Gomez would be the man given the nod at the next opportunity.
Van Dijk gave a hopeful assessment of Konate’s injury after Saturday’s game, but it seems very likely that the 25-year-old will miss Tuesday’s game against Bayer Leverkusen at the very least.
Faced with the choice between Gomez and Quansah yet again, this is surely an easy one for Slot. Gomez was terrific when brought and there should be no worries about him going again.
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