Lineker: Liverpool centre-back was “all over the place” in Palace defeat | OneFootball

Liverpool’s defensive problems were laid bare again at Selhurst Park, and two senior voices have now questioned Ibou Konate after his performance in the 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.

Shearer & Lineker highlight Konate’s mistakes in Liverpool defeat

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Gary Lineker, speaking on The Rest Is Football, was direct about the France international’s display.

He said: “When you look at the performance of Konate yesterday … he was a bit all over the place.

Alan Shearer continued: “He got robbed two or three times and they should have scored with a couple of his errors. A bit of a concern for Liverpool though because defensively they’ve not been great at all.”

Micah Richards had a similar take on our No.5’s performance and we will all hope his performances improve in the coming games.

The 26-year-old endured a torrid time as Palace’s forwards pressed high and forced mistakes.

Eddie Nketiah’s late strike sealed defeat for us, but it was the first half where the damage could have been far worse. Only Alisson’s brilliance and the post stopped Oliver Glasner’s side from running away with it.

This latest criticism comes in the context of the collapse of Marc Guehi’s Deadline Day move which has left us without the reinforcements many felt were needed.

Liverpool must address defensive balance

(Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Konate is not the only one struggling. New signings like Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak may take time to settle, but the bigger issue right now lies in how exposed we look without the ball.

Palace managed 18 shots, forcing our Brazilian goalkeeper into five saves.

By contrast, Liverpool had fewer clear chances and missed the best of them, with Wirtz firing straight at Dean Henderson and Isak dragging wide.

It adds to a growing narrative that while we have the attacking talent to compete, the defensive structure under Arne Slot is still a work in progress.

Shearer’s assessment will not sit easily with Liverpool supporters, but his words underline what many already fear: if we don’t tighten up at the back, our bid to retain the Premier League title could quickly unravel.

You can view Shearer and Lineker’s comments on Konate via The Rest Is Football on YouTube:

Join our channel of readers on WhatsApp to get the day’s top stories straight to your mobile