Liverpool handed 'stupid' verdict amid early penalty drama vs Southampton
Jamie Carragher believes Ibrahima Konate made a 'stupid' seventh-minute challenge on Adam Armstrong. In the opening exchanges of their clash with Southampton, Liverpool seemingly escaped a penalty scare as referee Sam Barrott called no foul.
Arne Slot's Reds have kicked off at St. Mary's Stadium, hoping they can beat the Premier League's 20th-placed team to move eight points clear of reigning champions Manchester City in second. The flashpoint of a fast start on the south coast was a challenge committed by Konate with seven minutes on the clock.
Armstrong had burst past the Liverpool defender, who responded by putting one hand on his opponent's back. This was enough to unsettle the Saints attacker and he went to ground with the majority of St. Mary's feeling a penalty was owed.
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"It is certainly a stupid thing to do from Konate. The defending wasn't great defending initially as he comes across," club legend Carragher admitted on Sky Sports' commentary.
However upon seeing replays, he confirmed: "It looks like he is just outside [the box]. Yeah, it is just outside."
So Liverpool would never have conceded a penalty for the challenge, evading that trouble, and Barrott never actually gave the foul in the first place. That said, they are clearly going to have overcome a clearly plucky opponent in this first vs last clash.
Carragher continued to warn: "Tyler Dibling was excellent just before that, on the half turn, evading the challenge and that was another challenge Liverpool have missed there. Southampton have started well."
They are also going to have to be especially careful as Conor Bradley and Konate were later shown yellow cards inside the opening 20 minutes, however Dominik Szoboszlai breaking the deadlock with his first Premier League strike of the campaign has dampened most initial fears of falling short this Sunday.