Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has been fired for his recent performances, but manager Arne Slot insists that the center-back is being chosen unfairly as the Reds battle for consistency.
Konate was lower in par in both the 2-1 Premier League defeat of last weekend in Crystal Palace and the 1-0 Champions League Reverse in Istanbul against Galatasaray on Tuesday, which criticized both fans and experts.
But Slot believes that the criticism is out of place, with mistakes from the center -like part of a broader problem that the team affects.
“If you lose as we did versus Galatasaray and Palace, it doesn’t help if you lose the ball easily,” said Slot. “He has been one of them, absolutely not the only one, because against Galatasaray, apart from the penalty, they might get three or four moments from us to lose simple balls without any pressure, which once happened to him in the Crystal Palace game and Galatasaray.”
The Liverpool head coach wanted to emphasize that the focus sketches an incomplete image at isolated moments.
“If you lose a game of football, there has been so much focus at that time and suddenly 90 minutes have been very bad. That is not what I analyze. I go through the game again and see what we did well and what we did wrong,” Slot explained.
“In the last two games it has been clear and clear that we have made a few mistakes, not only him, but others we are not used to. If you do things, people are not used to a game of football, then the manager normally receives criticism.”
While Konate has been criticized, Slot also addressed the form of Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, who had difficulty replicating the sizzling levels of earlier campaigns.
Salah has six goals in the opening of nine games of the season and has scored only five goals in his last 20 competitive performances, a period that extends to the end of last season. Slot outlined why he believes that the scoring exploits of Salah have been delayed.
“I see the same as the second half of last season, where he scored 12 goals five from a penalty and one of a set piece, so six open game goals,” said Slot. “He is part of a team that has to do with different opposition than the first half of last season.”
Slot explained that how teams were set up against Liverpool has changed, making it more difficult for the Reds to create opportunities through open play.
“To give that more insight, if you compare how we won the road game against United, where they tried to take place from the back and we took the ball three times from them, and at Anfield when Onana only went for a long time, that is one of the answers why it is harder for us to score open game,” Slot added.
“Mo is part of this and you can see this in the second half of last season and the first part of this season. But now you are focused on Mo, the next time you are focused on Florian [Wirtz]Then you are focused on Cody [Gakpo]. “
Slot wanted to emphasize that the problem is not only Salah, but a team -wide challenge when Liverpool adapts to a new setup.
“What I try to say is that we do not score as many open game goals as in the first part of last season and this is something we are working very hard on. The more we play under the new setup, the better it will go. But we are still struggling to find enough goals in the second half of last season and the first part of this season.”
The remarks of Slot underline that the recent misery of Liverpool is not the fault of one player alone. While Konate and Salah have come under fire, the struggle of the Reds are part of a broader tactical challenge and the manager believes that his side with time will rediscover the form that has made them to one of Europe’s top teams and ultimately Premier League champions.
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