Jamie Carragher tore into Ibrahima Konate after Liverpool’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to PSG, claiming the French defender “makes a mistake every match” while insisting Arne Slot got it “massively wrong” with his tactical setup in Paris.
The Reds were second best all night. Dominated. Outclassed. And lucky to escape with only a two goal deficit.
Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia did the damage for the holders, but it could have been worse. Much worse. Liverpool failed to muster a single shot on target. Not one.
Speaking on CBS Golazo after the final whistle, Carragher did not hold back.
‘Massively wrong’
Slot responded to Saturday’s 4-0 FA Cup humiliation at Manchester City by switching to a back five. The idea was to tighten things up. To make Liverpool harder to break down.
It backfired spectacularly.
“The manager tried something, but he got it massively wrong tactically about how he went about it,” Carragher said.
“He went about it with the back five all wrong. They were actually more open with a back five than with a back four, because they went man to man all over the pitch, and the three centre backs had to cover the entire width of the pitch.”
The result? A disjointed, exposed defence that PSG picked apart at will.
Van Dijk ‘uncomfortable’
Carragher reserved particular sympathy for Virgil van Dijk, who he felt was hung out to dry by the system.
“Watching Virgil van Dijk tonight in the middle of a back three normally, at a certain age, you think the middle of a back three is perfect for me,” Carragher said.
“This was different. Defenders were jumping into midfield with no one to mark and Van Dijk, at 34, had to keep running across and he couldn’t do it.”
But it was his assessment of Van Dijk’s partner that will sting most.
‘Konate has been awful all season’
Carragher did not mince his words.
“People have criticised Van Dijk this season for his performances, and I think that’s harsh,” he said.
“He plays every game. Konate next to him has been awful all season and was poor again tonight. He makes a mistake in every game. That’s not easy to play with that.”
The statistics back up the frustration. Konate has looked a shadow of the player who dominated alongside Van Dijk in previous campaigns. His positioning has been suspect. His decision making slow. And on nights like this, against opposition like PSG, those flaws are ruthlessly exposed.
“I think Van Dijk has been one of Liverpool’s best players, but tonight in this back three, I’ve never seen him so uncomfortable in a Liverpool shirt,” Carragher added.
“I think he’ll be pleading with Arne Slot to never play that system again.”
PSG ‘out of this world’
To be fair to Liverpool, Carragher acknowledged that PSG were simply brilliant.
“It’s not just Liverpool getting it wrong tactically,” he said. “PSG were absolutely out of this world. It was like watching Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.”
That is not an exaggeration. The French champions were relentless. Kvaratskhelia was unplayable at times. The midfield ran over Liverpool’s. And but for some wayward finishing, the tie would already be over.
‘We were in survival mode’
Slot, to his credit, did not hide from the reality of the performance.
“We were in survival mode for large parts of the game,” the Dutchman admitted afterwards.
“PSG was the better team but we didn’t give up and that is why we still have a chance. They kept us alive by not scoring a few open chances.”
He also accepted that his man to man approach had backfired.
“We tried many times to get them high, but they were able to play through us when we went man to man. I think that happened in the second half as well.”
What comes next
Liverpool face Fulham on Saturday in the Premier League, with Champions League qualification for next season very much still up for grabs.
Then comes the second leg against PSG at Anfield on Tuesday.
A 2-0 deficit is not insurmountable. Not at Anfield on a European night. But only if Liverpool are a different team entirely to the one that showed up in Paris.
Slot needs to find a system that works. Konate needs to find some form. And Van Dijk needs a partner he can trust.
Otherwise, this season could end with a whimper not a bang.
