A few millimetres to the right and Jarell Quansah would now be acclaimed for heading Liverpool into the Champions League quarter-finals and, according to Luis Enrique’s prediction for the winner of an outstanding last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain, onwards to Munich. Fine margins ensured the defender’s wait to make his mark under Arne Slot moves on to Wembley.
Barring an unexpected selection decision from the Liverpool head coach on Sunday Quansah will start as an emergency right-back in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle. Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to miss out with an ankle injury sustained against PSG on Tuesday, the second choice, Conor Bradley, remains sidelined with a hamstring problem and Slot’s third option, Joe Gomez, will not return from his own hamstring issue until the final weeks of the season. In many respects it is the opportunity Quansah has been longing for since the opening weekend of the season. Here it is, with the second League Cup winners’ medal of his young career at stake. The duel between the reinforcements, with Harvey Barnes likely to replace the suspended Anthony Gordon on Newcastle’s left flank, could prove significant.
