Peterborough chairman and Liverpool supporter Darragh MacAnthony has claimed Jurgen Klopp made a mistake with his team selection for the Reds’ 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Sunday.
The Merseysiders took the lead through Luis Diaz in the first half but required a late Mo Salah penalty to earn a point after second half strikes from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo turned the game on its head.
Klopp’s options were somewhat limited heading into the clash with the likes of Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota currently nursing injuries but an interesting decision was made in defence by the former Borussia Dortmund boss.
Academy graduate Jarell Quansah was selected ahead of Ibou Konate at Old Trafford but the 21-year-old made an error by gifting the ball to Fernandes before he dragged the hosts level.
“My biggest question mark is if Konate is fit for the bench why is he not fit for the strongest 11?” MacAnthony queried on The Hard Truth podcast (via Rousing The Kop). “I’m Jurgen Klopp’s biggest defender, I said without him we wouldn’t be top four, never mind competing for a title, but you have got to play your best players.
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“I am watching Konate go abroad and play for France and then he comes back and he’s on the bench. We all knew he was slightly made of glass when they signed him, it was the one question mark over him, and unfortunately he never plays 50 games a season. He was a little like muscle injuries, but if he was on the bench at Old Trafford, and Quansah has had a great season, but you have to play your best players.”
Quansah has had a brilliant campaign in a red shirt after making his debut against Newcastle back in August. He’s barely put a foot wrong in defence and has performed like a seasoned professional despite his tender age.
The England youth international doesn’t need telling that his error was a shocking one against the Red Devils but our No.78 will learn a lot from that mistake.
It was certainly a surprise to see him selected ahead of Konate but the Frenchman is injury prone and Klopp may have felt that our game against United was one game too much for the former RB Leipzig man.
Keeping the 24-year-old fit for the remainder of the campaign could prove decisive as we aim to go all the way in the Europa League and pip both Manchester City and Arsenal to the Premier League title.
Regardless which defender we are playing we should be way ahead before half time. Salah and Nunez wasteful strike and bad decision in front goal are the real reason that we were unable to beat Man United. At 1-0 it gives them confidence of a come back. If we have buried them 3-0 by half time the whole of Man Utd team would collapse.