Ibrahima Konate at centre of Liverpool ‘mess’ after what happened vs Galatasaray: ‘He’s so lucky’

Stephen Warnock laid into Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate after his two mistakes allowed Victor Osimhen to score for Galatasaray before the goal was ruled out for offside.

Liverpool were beaten 1-0 by Galatasaray in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie in Istanbul on Tuesday after Mario Lemina powered a header home in the first half.

The hosts thought they had doubled their lead in the second half as Osimhen got the better of Konate and slammed in from close range, but the goal was disallowed for offside in the build-up by Baris Yilmaz.

Former Reds defender Stephen Warnock blasted Konate in the aftermath of the incident on BBC Radio 5 Live, saying: “That is huge for Liverpool. It was a mess. Ibrahima Konate is so lucky – two mistakes from him. Liverpool are very fortunate there. Let out of jail.”

Liverpool face Galatasaray in the second leg at Anfield next Wednesday, where they will need a much-improved showing to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Ibrahima Konate got away with two blunders in quick succession vs Galatasaray

Konate failed to deal with a chipped pass over the top of the Reds’ defence that was aimed at Yilmaz, as he tried to play it back to Giorgi Mamardashvili but could only weakly pass the ball into Noa Lang’s path.

Lang then took the ball wide of the Liverpool keeper and lofted it across goal, where the onrushing Konate saw his failed clearance slowly dribble into Osimhen’s path.

The Nigerian striker lashed home to make it 2-0, but Konate’s blushes were spared as Yilmaz was deemed offside before the goal was scored and Gala remained one up.

Aside from his two errors in that phase of play, the French centre-back struggled to deal with Osimhen throughout the clash, as he won two of his four duels, committed two fouls and was accurate with two of his eight attempted long balls.

Konate could stay at Liverpool despite contract situation

Konate has certainly not had his finest season in a Liverpool shirt so far, and all the signs have pointed towards him leaving at the end of his contract this summer, with such poor performances potentially indicative of him looking for an exit.

Despite those issues, however, sources have told Football Insider that Liverpool want to keep Konate and continue to hold out hope that he will pen fresh terms ahead of the summer.

The Reds remain favourites to retain Konate, according to one of the UK’s leading bookmakers, with Real Madrid, Inter Milan and PSG among the favourites to sign him if he does decide to depart.

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