Gary Neville says Liverpool star was ‘all over’ against Leeds | Football

Gary Neville says Ibrahima Konate was ‘all over’ against Leeds and Liverpool’s dejected squad will likely be in a ‘very dark place’ following the 3-3 draw.

Liverpool had looked on the right track for a snug victory after Hugo Ekitike struck twice within the space of three minutes firstly of the second half to place the Premier League champions within the driving seat.

But roared on by the Elland Road crowd, Leeds fought back, with Anton Stach levelling after Dominic Calvert-Lewin had found the web from the penalty spot.

While the impressive Dominik Szoboszlai beat Lucas Perri to revive Liverpool’s lead, the hosts refused to lie down and dug deep to search out a dramatic equaliser, through Ao Tanaka, within the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The result leaves the Merseyside giants are languishing down in eighth place, ten points adrift of top-of-the-table Arsenal. The Reds have managed only one win within the their last six matches in all competitions.

Mohamed Salah’s explosive attack on Arne Slot – after being left on the substitutes bench – has only added to the sensation of crisis and gloom at Liverpool.

‘What was the thing Liverpool needed to do? It was compete with Leeds in the primary half and nullify them, shut them up, keep the group quiet and get your game going,’ Neville said on Sky Sports’ The Gary Neville Podcast.

‘They did that so I believed it was an expert first half from Liverpool without anything speculator happening up front.

‘Then, hastily, you get the goal. Leeds make a mistake, Hugo Ekitike’s blistering pace, gets onto it, finishes, boom.

‘I used to be asking them quite a bit in the primary half to play the balls earlier into the box and I feel Conor Bradley did that. Again, Ekitike was brave, gets in there, 2-0, game over. You’ve won the sport.

‘Arne Slot then makes substitutions, he’s telling his team, “We’ve won this game, that is now about shape, it’s about concentration, focus, game-management”, they usually’ve not been able to it again.’

Neville was especially concerned by Konate’s performance on the back and felt Liverpool were their very own worst enemy at times at Elland Road.

‘They’ve created their very own problems and even at 3-2 you were almost like, “Something could occur”, since you don’t trust them. You may’t trust them, they’ve lost trust,’ the ex-Manchester United and England right-back added.

‘They’ve got a number of credit within the bank, these players and this manager, for what’s happened over the past 18 months with winning the league.

‘But they’re losing it rapidly and it’s attending to the purpose where they’re making mistake after mistake after mistake.

‘I believed Konate and [Virgil] van Dijk did handle the 2 threats up front aerially rather well in the primary half however the minute that Leeds began to bring on the little players, the players that were a bit more tricky, Konate began to look a bit of bit all over.

‘It’s a very bad day for them, a very bad day, they usually got a lifeline by moving into 3-2. I believed Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai were the 2 best players and Szoboszlai gets the goal and you’re thinking that, “Right, that’s it”, however the nine minutes impacted them didn’t it? I don’t think they were completely satisfied with the nine minutes.

‘I don’t know where the nine minutes got here from but you can see they weren’t confident within the nine minutes.’

Neville continued: ‘It’s a foul one they usually’ll be dejected going back to Liverpool on that coach.

‘They will likely be in a really dark place. I don’t think they will likely be in a great place in any respect.’

Serious questions have been asked of Slot’s future in recent weeks, despite the Dutchman’s extraordinary success in his first yr on the helm last term.

But Neville is adamant that Slot has enough credit within the bank and Liverpool must keep on with the previous Feyenoord boss through thick and thing in the meanwhile.

‘I can’t entertain the thought of Arne Slot and talking about his job. That’s not for me. They won the title 4 months ago,’ he went on.

‘There’s definitely an issue, there’s definitely a problem of settling this latest team, this group of players who’ve come together, into the squad.

‘What’s happened with Salah and what’s happening with Isak, what’s happening with the defenders, what’s happening with the full-backs… there’s a lot of questions and you may tell he’s still attempting to answer them.

‘He’s probably not going to reply those questions for some time yet. It could even need a transfer window to type of refine things again. It would need a pair to depart and a pair to are available to get to where he desires to.’

Talking to the BBC shortly after the ultimate whistle, Slot admitted he was in ‘disbelief’ that his side had once more faltered in such dramatic fashion.

‘There’s a way of disbelief,’ the Liverpool head coach said.

‘I feel we played quite well to thoroughly during large parts of the sport and went 2-0 up.

‘I don’t think we had any problems and I don’t think we conceded a probability until the moment we make a foul which will not be even a probability.’

Pressed for his response to Salah’s post-mark remarks, Slot replied: ‘Like I said before the sport, we now have to simply accept the situation we’re in, and I make my decisions based on that.’

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