Alan Shearer rips into two ‘terrible’ Liverpool players who are ‘all over the place’
Liverpool are on a dreadful run of form and two starting players have been slammed for their terrible performances in recent weeks.
Arne Slot’s side sit seventh in the Premier League table and are already seven points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.
Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to Brentford on Saturday (25 October) evening was their fourth straight domestic loss, meaning they are on their worst run in the top-flight since January 2021.
The Reds now require a remarkable turnaround if they are to defend their Premier League title.
Liverpool starters have been awful
In just nine Premier League games this season, Liverpool have already conceded 14 goals, and only five teams in the division have let in more.
It is a far cry from last term when they were defensively resolute, as well as dangerous and exciting in attacking areas.
Speaking on the Rest is Football Podcast, former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer slammed both Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate for their current poor form.
He said: “Say what you want about Liverpool in midfield or up front, but defensively, oh my word.
“The two full-backs have had a lot of stick and a lot of criticism and I understand that, but the two centre halves (Konate and Van Dijk) are all over the place. They have been terrible, and they were again at Brentford. They were awful, both of them, Van Dijk and Konate.”
Ibrahima Konate could be leaving Liverpool
Meanwhile, Konate has rejected a new Liverpool contract and is moving closer to an exit from the club, sources have told Football Insider.
The 26-year-old’s future on Merseyside is in doubt as his current deal expires at the end of the season.
Talks over an extension to the centre-back’s contract have not progressed, and there is now a growing expectation that he will leave in the summer.
Konate has been linked to Real Madrid in recent months, and that interest is believed by sources to be “concrete”.