Jamie Carragher didn’t hold back in his criticism of Ibrahima Konaté after the Liverpool defender picked up a needless yellow card in the first half against Wolves.
The French centre-back misjudged a header and clattered into a Wolves player, earning his fifth booking of the season. Speaking on Sky Sports at halftime, Carragher questioned Konaté’s awareness and even predicted that Arne Slot would substitute him at the break—a decision that ultimately proved correct.
“It’s a stupid challenge by Konaté, but it’s not a yellow card—just two players going for a header, and one gets there first,” Carragher said during the broadcast. “I’d be surprised if Konaté comes out for the second half.”
Carragher also highlighted similar lapses in concentration from Konaté during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Everton earlier in the week.
“He just misjudges the header. It’s a daft challenge, absolutely ridiculous. He does have those moments, Konaté. He was a bit like that on Wednesday night as well—wasn’t switched on for that free-kick for Everton’s first goal.”
At halftime, Slot made the decision to replace Konaté with Jarell Quansah, and the Liverpool boss confirmed after the match that the yellow card was the reason behind the change.
“Yes, I took him off because of that. If he got another yellow for a soft foul, we would be down to 10 men. I know how these things go, so I couldn’t take the risk,” Slot explained.
The substitution paid off as Liverpool held on for a 2-1 victory, maintaining their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
