Arne Slot Discusses Team Fitness, Brighton Match, and Jarell Quansah

Liverpool manager Arne Slot addressed the media in advance of Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Brighton, scheduled for a 15:00 GMT kick-off. Below are the primary points from his press conference: Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota, and Alisson are not expected to return from injury until following the November international break. Providing an update on these players, Slot stated: “Always difficult to tell you when they will be exactly ready. They won’t be there before [the break] so we will see if they can be there after it.” Slot remarked that playing Brighton twice within a few days “it’s not that strange,” but cautioned against over-interpreting the Carabao Cup match results, explaining that “both teams didn’t start with the team they will start with on Saturday.” Regarding the team’s ability to score three goals in the cup competition despite squad rotation, Slot commented: “It was good to see that players who haven’t played that much have an impact on our team as well. We will need them this season so it’s good to see they are already on the level we need them to be.” Slot stated that Jarell Quansah “was unlucky” during the match against Brighton, yet expressed continued admiration for the centre-back’s overall display. Slot further added: “Jarrell played a very good game. The only issue for him is if it’s a moment that isn’t perfect it immediately leads to a goal.” When asked if he faced a selection dilemma at left-back concerning Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas, Slot responded: “I wouldn’t say dilemma. It has to do with Robbo’s pre-season as he came back injured from the Euros and he missed almost the complete pre-season. Kostas did really well in that period. That’s why we started rotating.” Slot emphasized that cup competitions “are really important” to him, which informed his decision to rotate the squad, as he believed that fresher players “had a better chance of winning” the tie. Regarding the FA Cup, which commences in January, Slot mentioned: “People have already told me that it is a very important cup to win.”