Liverpool were comfortably beaten by Everton on a night where their Premier League title hope ended in earnest.
Having seen Arsenal thump Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday night, the Reds needed to respond with three points at Goodison Park.
It wasn’t all bad from Jurgen Klopp’s team. They again created a number of chances without taking them. But in truth they never looked like winning.
Individual errors were the order of the day, with Gary Neville spotting Klopp going mad with two of his players during the first-half.
And at the end of the game, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher claimed that one of that misfiring duo should be replaced this summer.
Jamie Carragher urges centre-back purchase
There were a number of Liverpool players who really failed to stand up and be counted at Goodison last night.
In truth, you could pick holes in near enough every player except perhaps Luis Diaz. Even then, Lucho was guilty of a missing a couple of really good chances himself.
But quite probably the worst performer of the day was Ibrahima Konate. The French defender looked all at sea from the very first minutes of the game.
Carragher actually gave Konate a dressing down at half-time, questioning his part in Jarrad Branthwaite’s opening goal.
But after full-time, the pundit told Sky Sports that Liverpool need to buy a centre-back to replace the 24-year-old this summer.
“Konate’s been so poor of late, really poor,” Carragher fumed. “Liverpool need to buy a centre-back in the summer.”
Who could Liverpool buy
In our opinion, this is a little bit knee-jerk from Carragher in some respects. It’s certainly true that Konate has been poor since he returned from injury in March.
But prior to that, the France international had been having a really good season. Injury issues had interrupted him, but Konate barely put a foot wrong up until last month.
Nevertheless, it’s clear that Liverpool do need to buy a centre-back this summer. They needed one last year but Jarell Quansah has spared their blushes in that respect.
Who could come in may depend on who succeeds Klopp in the dugout. If it’s – as looks likely – Arne Slot, then a move for Feyenoord’s David Hancko would make sense.
Goncalo Inacio is another who has long been linked, while rumours about interest in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Willian Pacho have hotted up recently, too. Any would be suitable to keep Ibou on his toes.