And breathe. Liverpool moved a point further clear at the top of the Premier League table after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday night but it wasn’t a night without its fair share of drama.
A stunning 98th-minute thunderbolt from centre-back James Tarkowski secured a dramatic point for the hosts, in their last Merseyside derby in their long-term home.
That came after goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah had cancelled out an opener from Toffees centre-forward Beto in the first half.
There were a few disappointing performances on the pitch for Arne Slot.
Central defender Ibrahima Konate is one of the players who may not be best pleased with his efforts at Goodison.
Ibrahima Konate's performance against Everton
The France international was selected to start alongside Virgil van Dijk at centre-back for the Reds after both players had been rested for the 1-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle last time out.
Konate will be disappointed with his attempt to prevent Beto from getting across him and through on goal from the quick free-kick for the Everton opener, as he allowed the forward to get goalside to finish past Alisson.
The former RB Leipzig man was also brushed off too easily in the box moments before Tarkowski’s goal, as he appeared to claim a foul by exaggerating the contact. While you could argue that there was enough contact for a foul, the defender had to be stronger in that crucial moment of the game.
Konate did, however, win 100% (8/8) of his aerial duels in the match and was not dribbled past a single time, which shows that his general performance was strong, but he let himself down in two critical moments.
He was not the worst performer on the field for the Anfield giants, however, far from it. It’s safe to say Slot won’t be too happy with the performance of his man…
Chalkboard
The Liverpool star who must be dropped after Goodison
It’s safe to say that Hungary international, Dominik Szoboszlai, put in a performance that could see him dropped.
He came back into the starting line-up in the number ten position after the horror show of Plymouth Argyle and really struggled to stamp his mark on the game, despite putting plenty of effort in.
Szoboszlai failed to offer much in or out of possession for Liverpool and let himself down when he attempted to call for a penalty in the second half after a coming together with Vitalii Mykolenko. Rio Ferdinand described his actions as “embarrassing” for staying down on the floor after the incident.
Minutes
90
xG + xA
0.05
Pass accuracy
72%
Duels lost
10/13 (77%)
Possession lost
16x
Dribbled past
4x
As you can see in the table above, the former RB Leipzig star lost the majority of his physical duels with Everton players and was dribbled past a whopping four times, as the opposition midfield found it far too easy to get the better of him.
The right-footed dud also lost possession far too frequently, considering the incredibly little threat he offered in the final third, and that is why he was even worse than Konate, as his all-round display was simply not good enough.
Therefore, Slot must instantly ditch the central attacking midfielder from the starting line-up, after his disastrous showing at Goodison on Wednesday night.
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