Slot must eliminate 6/10 Liverpool star who made 0 tackles

Liverpool’s crisis deepened, with a point won against Leeds United at Elland Road only fanning the flames which have engulfed the Merseyside side this season, so fragile and fragile and liable to collapse at the slightest flash of danger.

After the draw, Dominik Szoboszlai was breathless and in disbelief, surely echoing the disbelief of so many Reds supporters around the world. How did we get there? Why are the Premier League champions so incapable of completing the bases?

Szoboszlai is currently the cream of a withering crop on Merseyside, but it is clear, proven, that he cannot do it alone. Liverpool have so many fighters, and who better to embody the collapse of Slot’s team than Ibrahima Konate?

Ibrahima Konate performance at Elland Road

Konate, 26, is out of contract at the end of the season, and although this should be an important season for the Frenchman, winning better terms at Anfield or showcasing his qualities to suitors from elsewhere, he has not gone down but gone down.

It was an unnecessary challenge against substitute Wilfred Gnonto, and it sparked the home side’s comeback. This was hardly an exception for the imposing central defender.

But, aside from the most glaring errors, Konate also lacks any semblance of control or confidence, and Slot must surely consider dropping him now, with the star having started every Premier League game so far this season.

When will the errors stop? When will the storm subside? Konate, for all his woes this season, is not the only Liverpool defender who is happy to deceive.

In fact, the intense scrutiny of the French international, an intense spotlight trained on him at all times, distracts from the constant problems of another.

Liverpool superstar could now be dropped

Virgil van Dijk was a pillar of strength for so many years at Liverpool, but we have a bitter taste of life without such a player at the back, with the 34-year-old having fallen from his indomitable self this season.

That failed deal for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi on transfer deadline day in early September continues to look more damning, and sporting director Richard Hughes will surely mull over a move for the England international, whose contract at Selhurst Park expires in June, this winter, lest Liverpool’s crisis spiral into something even worse.

To say that Van Dijk, Liverpool’s supreme captain, should be dropped is a bold claim. Some would say cheeky. Many would disagree.

However, the Dutch captain has been woefully out of shape in recent months, and Konate’s error-strewn errors have masked his own shambolic efforts. Liverpool were in shock at times, but Van Dijk didn’t step forward and tackle, not one.

He put Liverpool in danger with a careless headed back pass in the first half that required Konate’s intervention, and he lost the confidence and clarity that was firmly established for the lion’s share of his illustrious Liverpool career.

The 34-year-old was rated 6/10 by The Liverpool Echo, largely due to his aerial dominance, but it was not a convincing display from the skipper, nor a good representation of his leadership ability.

Neither centre-back has covered themselves in glory for Liverpool this season – far from it – and with the January transfer window fast approaching, it seems likely that a deal will be frantically explored for Palace’s Guehi or a number of other named targets who could restore some balance to a team which has lost its way – and which shows few signs of emerging from the bog.

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