Ibrahima Konate has spoken out amid a wave of criticism geared toward Arne Slot’s Liverpool team and him specifically.
The Reds’ nightmare run continued on Wednesday night as they were beaten 4-1 at home within the Champions League by PSV.
That was their ninth defeat in 12 games and represents their worst run of form because the Fifties.
It’s an incredible drop off given they won the Premier League title last season and started this campaign with five straight victories.
Club legends Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have faced criticism, while Konate has also been hit with very negative reviews of his performances, which have been well below par.
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The Frenchman made a confusing mistake which led to PSV’s third goal at Anfield on Wednesday and he’s actually aware that criticism has come his way.
‘Now we have to take this moment on the chest. Criticism is an element of football, and we’ll fight back each time and are available through this storm. In these moments, the fans matter most,’ Konate wrote on Instagram.
‘Those who stand with us in the nice times and the bad – those who sing for us even within the difficult moments! Your voice and your support mean all the things to us.
‘We all know we want to enhance and we’ll keep fighting for you. At all times.’
Reds legend Jamie Carragher fumed at Konate’s error against PSV, describing the centre-back’s continued selection as a ‘sackable offence’ for Slot.
CBS Sports released off-air footage of Carragher watching Liverpool’s defeat of their studio, and his furious response to Konate’s mistake within the build-up to PSV’s third goal.
‘Oh my God, Konate. Oh my God Konate. Watch Konate here, oh my God,’ Carragher said.
Carragher was then seen making a call on his phone and said during that conversation: ‘I’ve f****** had enough of them. Honest to God, that Konate.
‘I mean, that’s a sackable offence for the manager f****** keep picking him. Needs to be sacked for that.’
Konate was ultimately subbed off on 76 minutes, replaced by Federico Chiesa, a move which Slot explained after the match and defended his defender.
‘Yeah, I discovered that one difficult, because up until the moment I feel he [Konate] played a great game,’ said the under-pressure Reds boss.
‘But, when you go 3-1 down, I feel the thing that I actually have at all times done – and what I’ll keep doing – is then bringing an additional attacker in.
‘I discovered that tough, because I knew the skin world would probably then focus much more on the error he made, but I feel it was the choice I needed to make.
‘Unfortunately it didn’t result in anything except they scored the 4-1.’
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