“Carragher and Sutton slam Liverpool player for poor performance in Monday night’s match, calling it ‘all over the place'”

Jamie Carragher and Chris Sutton didn’t hold back in their criticism of one Liverpool player who had a rough outing on Monday night.

Despite Rio Ngumoha’s goal delighting Liverpool fans and even ex-player Carragher, manager Arne Slot is likely to have left St James’ Park with serious concerns about his team’s defensive display against Newcastle.

For the second game running, the Premier League champions let a two-goal advantage slip, relying on impact from the bench to salvage the match. Much of the blame fell on Ibrahima Konate.

Carragher and Sutton slam Konate’s display
While providing commentary for Sky Sports, Sutton took aim at the 26-year-old defender, saying: “Konate’s had an absolute stinker so far. He wasn’t good against Bournemouth either.”

Carragher echoed those sentiments during the post-match analysis on Monday Night Football, stating: “A few Liverpool players have started the season poorly, and Konate is one of them. He’s been all over the place.

“He has to win that aerial battle with Dan Burn for the equaliser. Instead, he’s tugging at his arm. He was terrible in the first half. He’s not up to speed at all.”

Konate’s early-season form under scrutiny
With Giovanni Leoni now in the squad and ongoing transfer links to Marc Guehi, Konate needs to step up — especially as he’s entering the final year of his contract. However, his form has been underwhelming.

Against Sheffield United, he missed a crucial header that led to William Osula’s equaliser and gave the ball away cheaply to Sandro Tonali earlier in the game. Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo gave him a rating of 4/10, referencing both incidents.

It wasn’t all negative — according to Sofascore, Konate completed 94% of his passes (51/54), won four of six duels, and made five clearances — but he struggled in crucial moments.

Konate has looked far from his best lately, and with Arsenal visiting Anfield next Sunday in a potentially decisive clash, a big performance is needed. The French defender is usually a solid presence when on form, but that level has yet to appear this season. Liverpool fans will hope he finds it soon — especially against the Gunners and beyond.