Steve McManaman singles out Liverpool star for criticism after Galatasaray defeat

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Arne Slot’s 100th match as Liverpool manager ended in disappointment (Picture: Getty) Steve McManaman took aim at Ibrahima Konate’s questionable defending following Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray, claiming the centre-back will have to ‘quickly forget’ his poor performance. Lemina’s early effort proved to be the difference as referee blew the full-time whistle and Arne Slot’s men will be forced to overturn the narrow deficit if they are to advance from the return leg at Anfield in a week’s time. ‘I thought it was a very frustrating performance.

Konate had a night to forget in front of a hostile Istanbul crowd (Picture: Getty) McManaman pointed the finger at Konate after the loss (Picture: Getty) ‘They were also really vulnerable at the back which I haven’t seen for a while. ‘Anything that went into the penalty area, they looked as if they were going to concede. ‘I think Konate had a night that he should quickly forget really because he looked at sixes and sevens for a lot of the evening.’ Former Southampton man Lemina scored the only goal of the game (Picture: Getty) McManaman felt Konate, Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike were all partly to blame for Lemina’s decisive goal. ‘Osimhen just heads it back into the danger area. I’m not necessarily blaming him because he’s marking an area but you have to appreciate who the danger man is and it’s Osimhen. ‘And then Kerkez and Ekitike are not doing enough to influence Lemina at all.’ Van Dijk and Co will look to overturn the deficit on Merseyside (Picture: Getty) McManaman believes Liverpool should have been awarded their goal midway through the second half, even if they didn’t ‘deserve’ to come away from Istanbul with a draw. ‘I think Liverpool should have been awarded the goal to be honest because if you slow it down, you see Konate goes up and it brushes his hand onto Davinson Sanchez’s head,’ he continued. ‘But the ball then hits the goalkeeper and it then actually hits Virgil van Dijk… Sanchez onto the goalkeeper’s leg, then onto Van Dijk’s heel, back onto the goalkeeper’s backside and it spins into the net.

Osimhen caused Liverpool’s defence all sorts of problems (Picture: Getty) ‘So actually, it accidentally brushes off Konate’s hand, it doesn’t go directly into the goal, and it probably should have stood. ‘Saying that, I don’t think Liverpool actually deserved a draw because they need to liven up. ‘At Anfield, they have to be infinitely better than they were tonight and they will be because the crowd will go crazy. On Galatasaray’s disallowed goal in the first half, the former England goalkeeper said of Konate: ‘Yeah, he is [lucky], it’s not a good moment. ‘He had some really difficult moments tonight, it wasn’t one of his best performances. ‘It was Baris Alper Yilmaz who was offside and as he makes that direct approach to the ball… I know he’s [Konate] not involved in it and the two other guys are directly involved… but yeah, I think Konate will be absolutely delighted to look up and see that flag up.’ According to Hart, the Merseyside giants will not be overly ‘concerned’ with home advantage likely to play a key role in the second leg. ‘I’ll give Galatasaray massive credit, they were on it until the very end,’ he went on. ‘I think Galatasaray deserved the win tonight. ‘I don’t think Liverpool will be too concerned about the second leg but on a 90-minute performance, there were a few bad ones out there and it’s something they will want to get out of their system quickly.’ Arrow MORE: Newcastle told to sign former Man Utd and Chelsea target to replace Nick Woltemade Arrow MORE: Arsenal receive triple injury boost ahead of Bayer Leverkusen Champions League tie Arrow MORE: ‘Perfect’ – Liverpool urged to make stunning transfer bid for Chelsea star Football Newsletter – In The Mixer Punchy analysis, transfer talk and more from Metro's football experts, sent straight to your inbox every week.