Liverpool’s dire run of form continued on Saturday afternoon. The Reds were defeated 3-0 by Nottingham Forest at Anfield, leaving Arne Slot’s side with just three wins in their last 11 games in all competitions, and just 18 points to their name in the Premier League.
It was a hugely underwhelming performance from the reigning Premier League champions. Their poor form sees them slip to 11th in the top flight, with just 18 points to their name. They are already eight points behind league leaders Arsenal.
In terms of the Saturday afternoon clash at Anfield, a first-half strike from defender Murillo, and second-half goals from Nicolo Savona and captain Morgan Gibbs-White were enough to give Sean Dyche’s side all three points.
The Reds dominate the ball, having 76% possession, and 21 shots at the Forest goal, but simply didn’t do anything of substance. They lacked real bite in attack, with just four of their shots actually finding the target. Forest, on the other hand, had seven shots on target out of 15.
There were some poor performances across the board from Slot’s side, although a few stand out in particular.
Liverpool’s worst players vs. Forest
It was yet another tough day at the office for Liverpool, with one man struggling to get into the game being Liverpool striker Alexander Isak. The Swede went another game without finding the back of the net, still chasing his first goal in the Premier League for Liverpool.
Liverpool content creator George Scaife expressed his surprise at the fact that Isak got just 15 touches of the ball against Forest. Indeed, there was a lack of service against Forest for the Reds’ number nine, who only managed one shot on goal.
Another man who left a lot to be desired for Liverpool on Saturday afternoon was Alexis Mac Allister. The 2022 World Cup winner was part of yet another reshuffled midfield, and although he almost put Liverpool ahead, he struggled to contribute anything of note.
Indeed, the disappointing performance from Mac Allister was noticed by Liverpool World journalist Will Rooney. He gave the Argentina international a 4/10 rating, criticising him for the fact that he ‘stupidly dived in’ on Neco Williams, which allowed the former Liverpool man to find a cross leading to Savona’s goal.
Isak and Mac Allister certainly struggled against Dyche’s men, but there was one player who was perhaps worse.
Liverpool’s worst player vs. Forest
It was yet another day to forget for Reds centre-back Ibrahima Konate. The Frenchman’s poor afternoon was summed up by James Pearce, The Athletic’s Liverpool reporter. He described it as a “nightmare” and said it was “error after error” at Anfield.
His once-formidable partnership with Virgil van Dijk has been breached plenty of times this season. Indeed, that was something that Forest found it easy to do on Saturday, given that they bagged three goals.
Some of the stats from the 26-year-old’s performance against Forest highlight how tough a day it was for him. Konate only won four out of seven attempted duels, conceded two fouls and was dribbled past once.
Touches
61
Passes completed
50/54
Number of times ball lost
5
Ground duels won
2/5
Aerial duels won
2/2
Fouls
2
Number of times dribbled past
1
Indeed, Rooney gave the former RB Leipzig man a scathing review. The journalist rated his showing a 4/10, explaining that he “should have dealt with the ball better,” which led to a corner from which Forest opened the scoring, and “made a meal of the cross” from which Forest had their goal ruled out.
This season, Konate, who is out of contract in the summer, has put in several underwhelming showings. As recently as September, it was reported that Real Madrid will try and sign the Frenchman, either on a free if he doesn’t sign a new contract, or in January.
Slot and the higher-ups at Anfield now have a decision to make. With Konate’s performances and contractual situation, they may well decide to recruit in January and look to move on from the Frenchman.
They have been linked with Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi again in the last few weeks, after failing to sign him on deadline day. Perhaps the Reds will be of the view that it is best they cut their losses on Konate and sell him to Los Blancos, or elsewhere, and reinvest that money.
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