Gary Neville 'surprised' by what Liverpool star did during Everton defeat

Gary Neville has expressed his surprise at the performance of Ibrahima Konate in Liverpool's defeat to Everton.

The Reds lost 2-0 to the Blues in the Merseyside derby, thanks to goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park. Liverpool will now prepare to face West Ham this weekend, but they now face an uphill task to try and win the Premier League title.

Jurgen Klopp's side are second in the table and three points behind leaders Arsenal with just four matches left to play. Liverpool are also just one point ahead of third-placed Manchester City, who have two games in hand and take on Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Thursday night.

READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp will hate Liverpool outcome but he's failed to fix his biggest problem this season

IAN DOYLE: Liverpool analysis - Dominik Szoboszlai becomes a major concern as Darwin Nunez question needs answering

Neville was on commentary for Sky Sports during the game and also gave his verdict on the his podcast post-match. The former Manchester United defender explained why he was 'surprise' by Konate's performance against Everton, with the centre-back partnering Virgil van Dijk in defence for the Reds.

“There was an element of this game where you felt Liverpool were outmuscled,” he said. “I wouldn’t say outfought because Liverpool teams work hard, but they were outmuscled by Everton in the big moments in both boxes.”

Neville then added: “Liverpool lost the game in both boxes, which is where you lose the game, but physically they lost the game in both boxes.

“That was surprising. I was really surprised that [Ibrahima] Konate, who I thought was the right pick alongside [Virgil] Van Dijk, he just got pushed around and nudged and ruffled.

“I didn’t expect that. I just expected them to be really powerful and dominant in those areas.”