Ex-Chelsea man loved what he saw from ‘brilliant’ Liverpool gem vs Villa

Andy Townsend was full of praise for one Liverpool player during the 3-3 draw against Aston Villa on Monday night.

Although the result matters little in the overall context of the Reds’ season, it was a momentous trip to the Midlands for Jarell Quansah, who scored his first Premier League goal with a brilliant header to make it 3-1 early in the second half.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, the former Chelsea midfielder loved the technique that the 21-year-old showed in nodding the ball over Emilinao Martinez.

Townsend said: “Totally unmarked, Lucas Digne is slow to react again. He’s got a free run Jarell Quansah, but having got there, he hangs in the air brilliantly. He’s doing everything he can to keep that under the bar, steers it perfectly into the far corner. That’s a brilliant header.”

Quansah’s goal was naturally the standout moment from his night at Villa Park, but aside from a questionable moment in the lead-up to Youri Tielemans’ early equaliser, the Liverpool centre-back had a tremendous match overall.

As per Sofascore, the 21-year-old completed 66 of his 72 passes (92%), executed three successful long balls, won five of his eight duels and made four clearances, four blocks, three tackles and two interceptions.

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While Digne can legitimately be criticised over his role in the third Reds goal, the man in the number 78 shirt still did brilliantly to guide his header into the visitors’ net, finishing with the aplomb of a seasoned centre-forward.

It was the perfect way for Quansah to cap a largely magnificent first season at Premier League level, and he now has a strong platform on which to build for the post-Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool.

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