96% pass completion: Neil Jones hails Liverpool ace who can be ‘proud’ of his display v Wolves
Neil Jones singled out one Liverpool player for praise over their performance in the Reds’ 3-1 victory over Wolves on Saturday.
It was a memorable day for Jarell Quansah, who was making his first senior competitive start for the club, and the 20-year-old duly repaid Jurgen Klopp’s faith with a very tidy display on a day when some of his more experienced teammates struggled in the first half.
In an exclusive column with EOTK Insider, the journalist wrote: “Jarell Quansah can be very proud of his first Premier League start. He’s enjoyed some senior experience playing 16 games for Bristol Rovers and a sub appearance at Newcastle United.
“However, until this summer, I don’t think anyone really thought of him as being a potential first-teamer. His name will have surprised a lot of people when it was around the pre-season squads.
“To look so assured against Wolves when you’re that young and you’ve never been earmarked as this massive prospect is significant. He looks so comfortable and assured and really uses the ball well for a centre-back.”
Jones added: “His completion rate was the best of anyone who played on the game on Saturday and he had a lot of them as well! I’ve only seen good things from him in pre-season and in the last 12 months, indeed, all I’ve seen is growth from him physically, technically but also in terms of game awareness.
“For a young centre-back to do what he did at the Molineux in a performance that was, for 45 minutes at least, very suspect, with senior players floundering alongside him, and stand out the way he did and get better in the game, I thought, is a real moment that can give him a lot of confidence and pride.”
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Quansah took full advantage of injuries and suspension ruling out multiple Liverpool defenders at the weekend, seizing his chance with a performance which merited the praise from Jones.
As per Sofascore, the youngster posted the highest pass completion rate of any Reds player on Saturday, finding a teammate with 77 of his 80 passes (96% success rate) as he looked very assured on the ball.
The centre-back didn’t shirk his core defensive duties, either, winning five of his eight duels and making three successful tackles as he stepped up to the mark commendably in LFC’s time of need.
Virgil van Dijk will be available once more for the visit of West Ham next Sunday, while Ibrahima Konate could be back fit by then as well, so Quansah mightn’t start against the Irons at Anfield.
However, his tremendous display at Molineux could be enough to see him retain his place for the Europa League clash away to LASK Linz on Thursday, and we’ve every confidence that he can continue to underline his vast potential during the trip to Austria.
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