Gary Lineker admits Arne Slot makes him 'nervous' as England icon questions Liverpool boss for brutal player assessment 'you’d have never heard from Jurgen Klopp'

Slot fielded 21-year-old Quansah at the heart of the defence alongside Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool's season opener against Ipswich Town on Saturday. However, the young defender was subbed off at half-time as Ibrahima Konate was introduced to solidify the backline in the second half.

After the game, Slot criticised Quansah and confirmed his withdrawal was a tactical call, telling reporters: "First thing I said - we don't have to speak about tactics if you lose so many duels. Jarell lost every duel, and many of us lost too many duels. We needed Konate to win the long balls for the number nine. That gave us control. They put so much energy in the first half, keeping fighting, playing all over the pitch 1 vs 1, I don't think they could keep up that tempo in the second half."

Former Tottenham star Gary Lineker did not like what he heard from the Reds boss and suggested Jurgen Klopp would never have treated any of his players the same way while speaking on The Rest is Football.

"Speaking out publicly about a player’s performance is not something that I think you’d have ever heard from Jurgen Klopp so there’s already a slight difference there," Lineker stated. "It always makes me slightly nervous when managers are critical of their players."

Courtesy of Mohamed Salah's goal and an assist, Liverpool began the new season with a comfortable 2-0 win. The Reds will next face Brentford on Sunday in their first home game of the 2024-25 campaign as Slot continues to try and stamp his mark after replacing Klopp in the dugout.