- Brace from Mohammed Salah sees gives Liverpool all three points in Merseyside derby
- Ashley Young received a red card for the Toffees, while Ibrahima Konate was lucky to avoid the same fate.
Jurgen Klopp admitted that Ibrahima Konate narrowly escaped a red card during Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday.
The match took a heated turn as Everton’s Ashley Young received his marching orders late in the first half for accumulating two yellow cards after fouling the Luis Diaz.
Yet, the Toffees were left fuming when the scales were not balanced in the second half.
Konate, who was already having a yellow card, brought down Everton’s Beto but surprisingly avoided a second booking. In a rather unusual twist, referee Craig Pawson ended up cautioning Everton manager Sean Dyche for his protests.
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Klopp’s response to this incident was immediate; he substituted Konate. After the game, the Liverpool manager acknowledged Konate’s stroke of luck, saying;
“Ibrahima could have been sent off, yes. It was a possibility, and then we replaced him. From that moment, we displayed solidity and compactness.”
Despite the performance, Klopp expressed overall satisfaction with his team’s performance, stating;
“I liked it a lot. It is a derby, you have to consider different stuff With a better last pass in the first-half we are 3-0 up. Our counter-attacks and good offensive transitions, we should have scored and didn’t.
“We didn’t allow them to do what they wanted. We were clear in the challenges. It is difficult because it was a deep block and they adapted slightly and set up to our strengths.
“I liked a lot of moments and then the red card was pretty influential in the game. I wanted us to be calm and ignore that we were one man up. It is difficult in the stands because it’s like now you have to create with each possession and it took a while until we got chances. And then the penalty. I saw it back and it is a clear penalty.”
For Virgil van Dijk and Konate’s defensive partnership, shared his thoughts on the match, stating;
“In my opinion the hard work came form the fight Everton put in. The long balls, the set pieces, they tried to counter on us but we were very prepared for it.
“The message was to stay patient and play quick from side to side. They made the change at half-time to play with five at the back and we had to be more patient.
“It is difficult to face teams playing with ten men. We have been on the other side and done well. Our mindset was they were still playing with 11 because it is a bit of mental thing when you have a man extra.
“We have been doing it for many seasons it is a big strength with the pace. The second goal especially. It is something we enjoy and have to keep going.”
