Stephen Warnock shocked by what Arne Slot did for Liverpool's clash with Galatasaray
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Arne Slot made wholesale changes to his Liverpool team against Galatasaray following their win over Wolves last weekend.Cody Gakpo was dropped by Slot, leading to Jermaine Pennant sending a message to the Reds winger.There were another five changes to the XI that won in the fifth round of the FA Cup, which has left Stephen Warnock ‘surprised’ and of the opinion that Virgil van Dijk struggled when having to play without Andy Robertson or Joe Gomez next to him. Who was Liverpool’s worst player vs Galatasaray? 😬 Credit: Liverpool FC/Cem Hasret Tekkesinoglu/Anadolu/Getty Images Ibrahima Konate return forced Virgil van Dijk to do more workAndy Robertson was praised on Friday evening, but he returned to the bench ahead of Milos Kerkez.We also saw Ibrahima Konate back in the centre of defence, and Warnock is of the opinion that the Frenchman’s return means Van Dijk has to do more work than he should.Speaking to the BBC, Warnock said: “Liverpool are all over the place.
Against Wolves, they looked way more confident and the understanding of playing together for years felt more comfortable.“I am surprised with the changes Arne Slot has made today. “Virgil van Dijk looked more confident with Robertson and Gomez alongside him.“Konate can switch off and his mind wanders, which means Van Dijk ends up doing more work than he should.
Slot should have stayed with the same line-up as Wolves away from home.”Konate has improved in recent matches, but there can be no denying the centre-back struggled at times in Turkey.However, Slot opted to move Gomez into the right-back role on Tuesday to fit the Frenchman into the team.That selection issue may not be a problem come the summer, though, as there has been a suggestion that Konate could leave for free instead of signing a new contract at Anfield.However, that will mean Liverpool only have three starting centre-backs, two of which (Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni) are currently out injured.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox