Alan Shearer said that two Liverpool players were given a ‘torrid time’ in the Reds’ 2-1 defeat at Brighton on Saturday.
A Danny Welbeck double consigned Arne Slot’s side to their 10th Premier League loss of the season, a result which left Stephen Warnock describing his former club as ‘soft’ and ‘easy to play against’.
Last year’s champions are now the same number of points away from Aston Villa in fourth as Fulham in ninth (five either way), and Lewis Steele has warned that Brentford and/or Everton could yet overtake LFC if they continue to flop.
Shearer called out centre-back duo Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate over their performances against Brighton at the weekend as the veteran ex-Manchester United striker punished Liverpool.
The Newcastle legend said on The Rest Is Football: “I thought Liverpool were a mess. Van Dijk and Konate got the runaround by 35-year-old Welbeck, who had a field day. He gave them a torrid time and they looked really, really poor.”
The Reds’ first-choice centre-back pairing have often provided a rock-solid foundation over the past five years, but Saturday was not one of their better outings.
Van Dijk was caught napping by Jack Hinshelwood in the move which led to Welbeck’s winning goal, and Konate’s positioning in that passage of play was also questionable as he appeared to be in no-mans-land in the penalty area.
Both defenders were subjected to 5/10 ratings by Ian Doyle for the Liverpool Echo, with the captain accused of going ‘wandering’ in key moments and the Frenchman contributing to a ‘sense of unease’ at the back.
The skipper’s ball distribution was especially poor, completing just 33 of his 46 passes (72% success) as he turned over possession with alarming regularity (Sofascore), and it wasn’t the all-powerful Van Dijk that we’ve been so accustomed to seeing in a red shirt.
If LFC are to salvage Champions League qualification from here, they’ll need Van Dijk and Konate to be far more assured than they were on Saturday as Welbeck capitalised upon their below-par performances.
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