Liverpool’s trip to the Etihad Stadium underlined the growing strain on their title defence and placed fresh scrutiny on Ibrahima Konaté, whose difficult afternoon fed directly into Manchester City’s 3-0 victory.
It was a performance that left Jamie Carragher openly frustrated, the former Liverpool defender revisiting a theme that has developed across the opening months of the season.
The Reds’ 2025 campaign has begun to fray. Arne Slot’s side sit eighth in the Premier League, undone by a fifth league defeat in six matches and now trailing Arsenal, Manchester City and a cluster of clubs who have gained momentum while Liverpool have lost theirs.
Chelsea, Sunderland, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester United all sit above them heading into the international break. The visit of Nottingham Forest on the other side of the pause already carries a weight it should never have had this early in the season.
Konaté has been at the centre of the discussion for several weeks. His form has wavered, his rhythm has faded, and his reliability away from home a previous strength has become a weakness.
Carragher, who has highlighted the Frenchman’s issues earlier this season, was again direct in his assessment after Konaté was involved in both the penalty incident and Erling Haaland’s opener.
Haaland’s breakthrough goal came from a moment that summed up Konaté’s current uncertainty. The defender attempted to glance a bouncing ball away, only to see his touch cannon off Haaland and loop beyond Giorgi Mamardashvili. It was improvised, unfocused defending; the type of decision that emerges when confidence is eroded.
Carragher did not soften his critique.
“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.
“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.”
Slot has spoken repeatedly about the need for stability, the need for emotional control and positional discipline in big matches. None of that was evident in Liverpool’s defending at the Etihad.
Also while the team’s issues are wider than one player, Konaté’s form troubles have become impossible to gloss over particularly given the club’s thin depth at centre-back and the uncertainty surrounding the 26-year-old’s contract, which remains unsigned.
Liverpool’s defeat at Manchester City did little more than confirm what the past month has suggested: their title defence is unravelling, and key individuals have fallen into prolonged dips that Slot has yet to correct.
If the reigning champions are to halt the slide after the international break, their centre-backs must re-establish authority. At present, Konaté represents the uncertainty rather than the solution.
