Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher has criticized Ibrahima Konate, claiming the Frenchman makes mistakes every time he takes to the pitch in a difficult season.
Ibrahima Konate endured a difficult season
Jamie Carragher claims Ibrahima Konate is “making mistakes every game” and says it is affecting the way people view Virgil van Dijk.
The Frenchman has long been the captain’s centre-half partner, but has endured a difficult season with Konate’s future uncertain after his contract expires.
Konate endured another tough night as Liverpool lost to PSG in the Champions League quarter-final first leg. The Parisians were in the ascendancy and probably should have won by a bigger margin than the 2-0 win as they continued to cause problems for the Merseysiders.
Liverpool changed their tactics and adopted a back five, starting Konate, Van Dijk and Joe Gomez as part of the central defensive trio. PSG could still make a number of changes and Carragher took aim at the French defender as he has always been an error-prone player.
“People have criticized Van Dijk’s performance this season, but I think it’s been harsh. I think he’s played every game, but the players next to him have been terrible all season and tonight was another terrible one,” he told CBS Sports.
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“Konate is not easy to play with because he makes mistakes every game, so I still think he is Virgil van Dijk, one of Liverpool’s better players. But tonight in the back three, I have never seen him (van Dijk) so uncomfortable in a Liverpool shirt in my life.”
The Liverpool defender has already taken that away from Carragher this term, with pundits pointing to issues with his game after making a crucial error in the humiliating defeat to PSV earlier this year. “Konate, when you see a player go through something like this, you’re actually at a point where you feel like you shouldn’t criticize him because you’re seeing things that aren’t good. I’ve never thought he’s top class, but he’s just going through a complete nightmare.”
Jamie Carragher believes Virgil van Dijk is influenced by the Frenchman’s form
Konate still has a new contract at Anfield, but reports suggest he is closer than ever to a contract extension. There were previously rumors of a move to Real Madrid, but the defender wants to finalize his future before this summer’s World Cup. Slott remains determined to keep him around, even as he admits the costly mistakes he made.
The Dutch coach said: “His overall performance was good, but I would rate him differently because small mistakes led to goals right away. But since I’ve been here, he’s formed a very good partnership with Virgil. And like Virgil, he’s always healthy. Touch the wood. These two are extremely important for us.”
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