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Topics: Jamie Carragher, Liverpool, Manchester City, Football
Nasir Jabbar
Topics: Jamie Carragher, Liverpool, Manchester City, Football
Jamie Carragher has been called out by a former teammate following his criticism of a star player after Liverpool's crushing defeat to Manchester City.
Liverpool suffered a bruising 3-0 defeat to Man City on Sunday in a blow to their Premier League title hopes at this early stage.
Arne Slot's team weren't at the races as Pep Guardiola's side blew them away in the first-half, scoring two unanswered goals before making sure of the victory in the second-half with a stunning Jeremy Doku moment.
Carragher was critical of his old side as he took aim at Ibrahima Konate, who failed to prevent Erling Haaland from heading home in the 29th minute to make it 1-0.
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But his assessment of Konate angered Djimi Traore, who jumped to his fellow countryman's defence following Liverpool's latest setback.
On X, Traore, who played alongside Carragher for seven years at Anfield, wrote: "My dear friend @Carra23. Normally I’m agree with your opinion must of the time about football in general but this time I disagree about you point out Ibou Konate performance. Last years he was one of the best CB in premier league. This season all @lfc team underperformed."
Liverpool lost their fifth league game of the season against Man City and trail leaders Arsenal by eight points.
The Reds are struggling this season following a terrific campaign under Slot last year.
Other than Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool's new signings have failed to hit the ground running and their experienced players, including Konate, haven't delivered.
The French defender endured a rough outing against Man City, with Carragher slamming his decision-making against Haaland.
"I just want to look at this match up in the middle between Konate and Haaland. Konate was heavily involved in the penalty again, he’s having a really tough time and it feels like we’re saying it week after week," he said on Sky Sports.
"It’s a bit of luck for Man City because Haaland doesn’t know much about it. Look at Haaland’s jump compared to Konate, he’s trying to flick the ball on and as a defender, that’s a last resort.
"He’s not even off the ground and he’s trying to flick it on, go and get as high as you can and head that ball away. I don’t understand at all what he’s trying to do. Konate, again, when Liverpool concede a goal or a problem, he is at the heart of it.
"He’s got a big problem away from home, which is when you need your centre backs, your centre backs need to play well to get results and too many times he’s gone missing."