‘Please take me off’: Leon Osman says Liverpool 24-year-old didn’t want to stay on v Everton

Leon Osman thinks Ibrahima Konate was begging Jurgen Klopp to take him off during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Everton at Anfield on Saturday.

The referee Craig Pawson had a big call to make in the first half as he sent off Ashley Young for two bookable offences, with Sean Dyche’s Everton already under the cosh after 37 minutes.

But Liverpool and Ibrahima Konate, before Mohamed Salah could open the scoring via the penalty spot, found themselves in a not-too-dissimilar situation in the second half.

With Liverpool’s centre-back already on a yellow card, he fouled Beto whilst Everton were on the counter, and whilst the foul was given, but no card.

That left Leon Osman fuming because he felt it should have been ’10 v 10’ and it wasn’t long before he thought Ibrahima Konate was asking for Jurgen Klopp to ‘please take me off’, as he told Premier League Productions (21/10/23 at 2:45 pm).

In the end, the Liverpool boss, just after the hour mark, did just that, with Joel Matip coming on as his replacement, perhaps a sign that even Jurgen Klopp himself knew that his player was lucky to stay on.

Either way, this is what former Toffees midfielder Leon Osman made of that incident involving Ibrahima Konate.

Should Konate have been sent off?
“I think it should have been (10 v 10),” said Osman. “We are talking consistency throughout the Premier League and refereeing.

“I highlighted it at half-time that Everton had received a yellow card to Ashley Young that was so similar to that of Kostas Tsimikas, who didn’t receive a yellow card, then you have got this with Konate.

“An opportunity on the counter-attack, it doesn’t come more cynical than that. You see his foot clipping cross there and taking out Beto. He stepped into Konate – that should have been a second yellow card. It’s as blatant as the Ashley Young one.

“No surprise that Jurgen Klopp made that change there – ‘We can’t believe we have got away with one, off you come’ and Konate thought ‘please, take me off before I receive a second yellow card’.”

Can Konate stay fit?
It could be argued that if Konate can stay out of the treatment room, then Virgil van Dijk has a regular centre-back partner in the France international.

There is some serious quality and power to his game, it’s just a case of not being able to play a consistent run of games to showcase that.

That has probably been one of the reasons why Klopp has watched his defence decline over the past 12 months, but with a new-look midfield and Konate back in action, he will be hoping all of that changes.

And why not? Liverpool are third in the Premier League table, one point off leaders Manchester City, and pushing for that title again.