1 year ago
302 
Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images
“You don’t expect to make your debut away with 10 men at St. James’ Park down 1-0,” said Quansah following his debut.
In amongst the madness of Sunday’s late comeback victory over Newcastle, with Darwin Nuñez scoring a pair of goals in the final 20 minutes of the match to send Liverpool home with a 2-1 win, there was an unexpected debut for the Reds.
With Virgil van Dijk’s red card meaning Joe Gomez had already been tapped and with Joël Matip’s legs showing signs of fading, Jarell Quansah came on alongside striker Nuñez in the 77th minute and in doing so had made first senior appearance for the club.
“I felt as ready as you can be in this scenario,” Quansah said after the match and that rather unexpected Liverpool debut. “You don’t expect to make your debut away with 10 men at St. James’ Park down 1-0, so it’s hard to put into words at this minute.
“When Virgil was sent off, everyone else was ready to step up and it’s a testament to that. It’s a team game, everyone needs to be ready so all of the players, players on the bench, you have to be ready at any moment because any scenario can happen.”
In some ways, too, an unexpected debut like Sunday’s might be easier to handle than when a player knows for hours or even days ahead of time he’s likely to get his first senior minutes and has time to consider it—and everything that might go wrong.
“It’s always easier when something is sprung on you and you’ve got the adrenaline running through your veins,” Quansah added of his Sunday. “It’s what dreams are made of. That’s a cliché but it’s so true, and I’m ready for whatever comes next.”
