It was another forgettable evening at the office for Arne Slot and his beleaguered Liverpool side as they were put to the sword by Peter Bosz’s PSV Eindhoven in a 4-1 loss in the Champions League on Wednesday. In the wake of the defeat – the Reds’ third on the trot – Jamie Carragher, on duty for CBS Sports, has suggested that one player should cost Arne Slot his job.
Fresh off the back of their 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on the weekend, Anfield played host to the Merseysiders’ most chastening defeat of the season as PSV ran riot at a stomping ground which has a reputation for being difficult to visit. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday, though, as Ivan Perisic opened the scoring within six minutes of play from the spot.
Dominik Szobszozlai gave the hosts a slither of hope ten minutes later, but it soon amounted to nothing as Guus Til delightfully prodded his effort past Giorgi Mamardashvili in the 56th minute. Matters went from bad to worse for Slot’s men in the 73rd minute as substitute Couhaib Driouech bagged his first of the 4-1 encounter. The Moroccan then added a second to his tally in stoppage time.
Carragher Calls Out Liverpool Player, Claims It’s A ‘Sackable Offence’ to Keep Picking Him
Behind the scenes, there must be rising tensions over whether Slot, who became the fifth manager to win the Premier League title in their debut campaign, is the right man to oversee the post-Jurgen Klopp era. Winning the title at such a canter last season will give him enough goodwill for the time being – but fans are just anticipating the result that will be regarded by Reds bosses as the final straw.
It may never come to that point, of course, but former defender Carragher is under the impression that he should lose his job for continuing to pick Ibrahima Konate. While watching the contest, the now-pundit picked up the phone after watching PSV’s third of the night. “Oh my God, [Ibrahima] Konate! Oh my God Konate. Watch Konate here, oh my God!” the Liverpudlian commented.
“I’ve f***ing had enough of them, honest to God. That Konate, that’s a sackable offence for the manager for keep picking him. He should be sacked for that.”
Watch Jamie Carragher’s scathing assessment of Ibrahima Konate (0:28 onwards) below:
Midfielder Joey Veerman, for the goal in question, prodded a loose ball away from Szoboszlai in the Liverpool half and the ball bounced towards Konate, who had initially headed away the danger.
In an attempt to clear the ball for the second time within the space of ten seconds or so, the French centre-back extended his leg but completely missed the ball. Ricardo Pepi pounced on the mistake and directed his run towards Mamardashvili’s goal and the USMNT international’s initial shot rebounded off the post.
Ibrahima Konate’s Statistics in Liverpool 1-4 PSV Eindhoven
Minutes
76
Touches
50
Accurate Passes
40/41 (98%)
Passes into Final Third
5
Errors Leading to Goal
1
Tackles
3
Recoveries
6
Ground Duels Won
3/3 (100%)
Overall Rating
5.6
Driouech was alert to the ball bouncing off the post – and he made no mistake with his shot, which was struck off the floor and bounced beyond the outstretched arms of Mamardashvili. Liverpool, however, wouldn’t have been in such a porous position if Konate had initially dealt with the bouncing ball ten seconds before the ball rippled the back of the net and Carragher’s post-match comments reflect that.
Carragher’s Previous Criticism of Konate Called out by Former Liverpool Player
Konate has long been an issue for Carragher. Despite their curtain-raising 4-2 win over Bournemouth in August, he singled out the ‘shocking’ Frenchman for his defending – and that trend has continued throughout the opening months of the 2025/26 campaign, especially after Liverpool’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City on November 9. In response to Konate’s display, he said:
“Konate, again, when Liverpool concede a goal or a problem, he is at the heart of it and he’s got a big problem away from home. Away from home, which is when you need your centre-backs. Your centre-backs need to play well away from home if you’re going to get results and too often this season he’s gone missing away from home.”
That’s not to say that every former Red agrees with his assessment of Konate. Djimi Traore – who played 88 times for the Merseysiders between 1999 and 2006 – took to X (formerly Twitter) to slate his ex-teammate’s continuing criticism of the 26-year-old.
“My dear friend. Normally, I agree with your opinion most of the time about football in general, but this time I disagree about you pointing out Ibou Konate performance. Last year, he was one of the best CBs in the Premier League. This season all the Liverpool team underperformed.” In response, Carragher wrote: “That’s absolutely fine my dear friend!”