Jamie Carragher rips apart ‘lazy’ Liverpool star he’s ‘sick of’ | OneFootball

Ibrahima Konate’s mistake during the 2-2 draw at Fulham has led to savage criticism from Jamie Carragher, while a second Liverpool player has also been questioned.

Liverpool academy graduate Harry Wilson continued his fine form in the 17th minute by firing past Alisson on his left foot after Raul Jimenez sent him through on goal. The Reds were poor in the first half but improved after the break, with Alexis Mac Allister heading onto the crossbar before Florian Wirtz equalised for the visitors.

Conor Bradley flew forward and played in Wirtz, who showed composure to guide the ball into the net on his weaker left foot. Wirtz had a slow start to life in England but has looked far more confident in recent weeks, having notched his first league goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wilson was unlucky not to bag a brace when he chipped the ball onto the crossbar in the 77th minute, while it was Cody Gakpo who thought he had won the game in stoppage time.

Joachim Andersen failed to deal with a Jeremie Frimpong cross, allowing Gakpo to knee the ball over the line at the back post. However, there was yet more drama as a last-minute screamer from substitute Harrison Reed rescued a point for Fulham.

A second successive draw for Liverpool leaves Arne Slot’s side in fourth place, 14 points behind leaders Arsenal.

Konate has had a rocky season and was at fault for Wilson’s opener, pressing in midfield and leaving space in behind for the Welsh winger.

On Sky Sports, Carragher said at half time: “I’m sick of seeing it all the time, lazy defending from centre-backs, not just Liverpool, right throughout the Premier League. Harry Wilson does not make that run if Konate’s across and [Virgil] van Dijk’s across.

“So whether that’s coming tactically from the manager, or they just want to sit in their armchairs in the middle of the pitch and let the midfield players do the running for them…”

When asked about Liverpool’s wider performance at full time, Carragher added: “Liverpool’s response second half was better, it couldn’t be any worse really. The first half was so pedestrian, there was a little bit more intensity [in the second half], a lot of that comes from Conor Bradley.”

However, the pundit was surprised that Wirtz’s goal stood, given the fact he looked narrowly offside.

“Wirtz gets a goal, I think that’s two in three games now,” Carragher continued. “He looks offside to me. It’s really tight, but when you’ve got the lines going through the penalty spot, it definitely looks like he’s further forward.

“I know sometimes the angles can fool you, where the camera angle is, but the fact we’ve got the penalty spot to look at, I just can’t believe that’s been given.”

Milos Kerkez also in the firing line

Before the Fulham clash, Carragher criticised Konate’s team-mate Milos Kerkez. When asked if the rotation with Andy Robertson is working for Kerkez, Carragher replied: “No, but I think it’s working for Liverpool in that I don’t think he should be playing every week.

“They’ve got too good of a back-up in Robertson who needs to play games as well. I think when Robertson has played – and he hasn’t played as much as Kerkez – I think you’d probably say Robertson’s performances have been better.

“Kerkez has found it tough. It’s been a struggle for him. He’s a young man but he’ll have to improve in the second half of the season, there’s no doubt about that.

“It’s funny watching him play because I always remember speaking about Trent Alexander-Arnold who Liverpool have missed enormously, and saying it’s like having Kevin De Bruyne at right-back.

“Sometimes when you watch Kerkez it’s like having Darwin Nunez at left-back.

“It’s just a bit mad. There’s no thought process, what’s he doing with the ball, how’s he connecting with other players.

“It’s just head down and run. Head down and run with the ball, he never gets his head up and plays passes.

“He’s got to improve, he’s a young man, but we’ve seen that with a few left-backs, Andy Robertson being one, who didn’t have great starts to their Liverpool careers.