Michael Owen has taken aim at Ibrahima Konate for the French defender's role in Liverpool's first defeat of the season away at Selhurst Park. Up until Saturday afternoon, the Reds had been unassailable in the Premier League, winning five of their opening five games and opening up a five-point gap at the top of the table. With Palace taking the three points, they climb to second in the table.
The Eagles rise to beat Liverpool again
Oliver Glasner's side reached their 18th game without defeat, a run which has seen them win both the FA Cup and the Community Shield – the latter coming against Liverpool at Wembley. The Eagles have been impressive and have now matched their longest-ever unbeaten run, closing the gap on Saturday's opponents and moving to within three points of the league leaders. Palace were dominant against the Reds in the first half, earning a well-deserved 1-0 lead through Ismaila Sarr, and looked set to strengthen their grip on the game. With the minutes ticking away, Palace appeared to be close to earning a great victory over the champions, but Federico Chiesa popped up late to equalise. The Eagles did not give up and Eddie Nketiah chested down a loose ball and flashed an effort past Alisson in the Liverpool goal to steal all the points in the 97th minute. The Eagles deserved the victory and Michael Owen believes the Liverpool defence were at fault for their first defeat of the season. The former Reds striker even singled out Konate for criticism, claiming the French defender was lost and unable to cope with the rampant Palace attack.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTiredness is not an excuse for Owen
Speaking after the game, via , Owen said: "I don't know whether it was tiredness, but they rested a fair few players in midweek in the Carabao Cup. They weren't their usual selves. We are early in the season, I'd be hesitant to blame it on that [tiredness].
"I mean, Konate in the first half didn't know what he was doing. I can't say that it was because of rustiness or tiredness. We've seen one or two performances like that from him this season that have been quite similar.
"I wouldn't use that excuse, I would give praise to Crystal Palace, they're a proper team. They've beaten Liverpool in the Community Shield, it wasn't a fluke. I'd be more inclined to say Palace played very well."
Slot spots weakness in the Liverpool team
Slot admitted that the Reds were not at the races in the first half and deserved to be behind at the break. The Dutch coach then added that he felt that the Reds turned the game around in the second half and could have earned a positive result, but fell apart thanks to a set-piece. Speaking to the , Slot said: "Very difficult first half. They did really well and deserved to be 1-0 up, we were lucky it was only 1-0. Second half it was the opposite. It took a while before we scored and we did with a few minutes left. But from a second set piece they won the game. If you want to compete you need a very positive balance with set pieces and even more in this league. It was one of our biggest strengths last season, now we have conceded two against Newcastle and two here. But this league is more and more and more about set pieces."
Getty Images SportKonate still in Madrid's sights
Liverpool head to Istanbul this week to continue their European campaign. The Reds face Galatasaray before travelling to west London to take on a faltering Chelsea. The Blues made it back-to-back defeats after a loss to Brighton on Saturday, but will be determined to rebound with a victory over the Reds. It marks a tricky week for Konate who, under pressure from pundits and critics, will need to raise his performances to the level he reached last season. The Frenchman may have been distracted by rumours linking him with a move to Real Madrid. Los Blancos are plotting to bring Konate to the Spanish capital on a free transfer next summer, emulating the move they made on Trent Alexander-Arnold this summer. The Spanish giants may feel compelled to step up their interest in the central defender after their key target William Saliba turned them down. The Arsenal centre-half has agreed to a new deal with the Gunners that will keep him in north London until 2030.