21st October, 2023
Jurgen Klopp admitted Ibrahima Konate was lucky to escape a red card in Liverpool’s Merseyside derby victory.
The Reds defeated fierce rivals Everton 2-0 at Anfield thanks to a second-half brace from talisman Mohamed Salah.
Shortly before the Egyptian opened the scoring from the penalty spot, Konate was fortunate to not receive a second yellow after tripping Everton striker Beto near the touchline.
Klopp responded almost immediately by replacing the French centre-back with Joel Matip.
The Liverpool boss said after the game: “Ibrahima, could have gone, yes.
“It could have happened obviously and then we took him off and from that moment we were solid and compact.”
Klopp also stressed that Ashley Young’s 37th-minute red card was a key turning point in the match, the Englishman picking up a second yellow for a rash challenge on Luis Diaz.
He said: “I liked a lot of moments and then the red card was pretty influential in the game.
“I wanted us to be calm and ignore that we were one man up. It is difficult in the stands because it’s like now you have to create with each possession and it took a while until we got chances.
“And then the penalty. I saw it back and it is a clear penalty.”
Klopp praised his team’s overall performance but was also aware the final ball was lacking in the first half.
He added: “I liked it [performance] a lot. It is a derby, you have to consider different stuff.
“With a better last pass in the first-half we are three nil up. Our counter attacks and good offensive transitions we should have scored and didn’t.
“We didn’t allow them to do what they wanted. We were clear in the challenges. It is difficult because it was a deep block and they adapted slightly and set up to our strengths.”