Gary Neville has said that Liverpool’s upturn in form amid Trent Alexander-Arnold’s positional change is ‘papering over the cracks’ of Ibrahima Konate trying to compensate for the Reds’ number 66 playing further up the pitch.
The England international has been deployed in a more advanced inverted full-back role in recent games, and while it’s borne rewards with a haul of six assists in his last five games (WhoScored), it’s also left the team more exposed defensively.
The Frenchman was culpable of an error leading to a goal for Leeds a couple of weeks ago and was also nowhere near Heung-min Son when the Tottenham forward got in behind the Merseysiders’ defence to score his team’s second goal in their 4-3 defeat at Anfield on Sunday.
Speaking on his eponymous podcast for Sky Sports after the match, Neville insisted that Konate is struggling with trying to basically cover two positions in one and endured a ‘nightmare’ performance yesterday.
The 48-year-old said: “Konate on that right-hand side had a nightmare today 40 minutes in. You have to connect the two [his form and Trent playing centrally]; you can’t keep papering over the cracks.
“You have to deal with it properly. Every chance Tottenham had it felt like it came down that right-hand side.
“I love Trent on the ball and playing centrally unless they were going to a back-three and Robertson as tucking on the left, but Robertson’s flying forwards as well, and asking Konate to play right-back and right-centre-back, that’s too big an ask.”
The France defender won’t be happy with how he let Son ghost in behind him for Spurs’ second goal, but he still put in an unsung defensive shift, leading the Liverpool ranks for duels won (11 out of 13) and tackles made (four), as per Sofascore.
The tactical change with Trent playing further forward is still in its infancy, so Konate may well adjust to his new responsibility more comfortably as the weeks progress.
You can see Neville’s full comments on the Reds defender, and Liverpool as a whole, from 3:30 below (via Sky Sports Premier League on YouTube):
So let me get this right, when Trent plays full back everything goes wrong for him as a defender and him in that position is our weakest link so best move him into midfield as he’s wasted at right back and not very good at it either.
And now we have moved Trent , it’s Konate who’s the weakest link all of a sudden in similar position ,so,,,,,,it’s the position that’s our weakness not the players as both of them can’t be all that bad,,,,,,,or can they?