Shades of Konate: 3/10 Liverpool star must be benched after Atletico
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Published Sep 10, 2026, 6:15 AM GMT+1
Ethan is a feature and opinion journalist at Football FanCast, specialising in analytical football writing, Premier League coverage and in-depth features across the English game.
A graduate of the University of Derby's Football Journalism course, Ethan began developing his football media experience through roles including media assistant at non-league side Mickleover Sports and EFL reporter for VAVEL. After graduating in 2023, he spent six months as a Premier League journalist at GRV Media before joining Football FanCast in February 2024.
Ethan's work focuses on analysis-led features, opinion and player and club assessment, examining the tactical, statistical and wider footballing context behind the biggest stories. He covers a broad range of clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Leeds United and sides across the Midlands, with particular expertise in Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
As a Nottingham Forest season-ticket holder and lifelong supporter, Ethan also brings first-hand knowledge of the club and its supporters to his coverage, complementing his broader understanding of the Premier League and English football.
Through his features and analysis, Ethan aims to give readers more than a reaction to the latest football story, providing considered opinions, tactical insight and detailed analysis that explains the significance behind performances, players and developments across the game.
Liverpool kickstarted their Champions League campaign with a comeback 2-1 victory against Spanish giants Atlético Madrid at Anfield last night.
Marcos Llorente’s opener after 17 minutes handed the Reds faithful a similar sinking feeling, with the Spaniard netting his fifth goal in just three appearances against the club.
However, goals from midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister secured victory and ensured Andoni Iraola had the perfect start to his European tenure on Merseyside.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Despite the impressive victory from being a goal down, various players who started the game failed to deliver, which could see their starting roles come under huge threat in the near future.
The biggest losers from Liverpool's win over Atletico
After his £123m move from PSG during the latter stages of the summer window, winger Bradley Barcola was handed his first start for Liverpool last night.
It was the perfect opportunity for the 23-year-old to demonstrate his quality, but it’s safe to say he endured a tricky opening outing in front of the Anfield faithful.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
The French international had three shots during the triumph, with all three being defined as big chances, but he squandered each and every one of the opportunities that fell his way.
He also failed to complete any of the crosses he attempted, whilst losing 60% of the duels he entered - before limping off, which will certainly be a concern to boss Iraola.
Barcola wasn’t the only attacker to struggle in stages of the 2-1 triumph, as fellow winger Rio Ngumoha also failed to deliver his best performance on Merseyside.
The teenager was withdrawn at the same time as the Frenchman, after only completing 40% of his attempted dribbles and failing to place any of his efforts on target.
He was also largely outfought by the hard-working Spanish outfit, which resulted in the English star only being able to come out on top of 44% of his ground duels.
The biggest worry for Iraola after Atletico win
Liverpool players failing to deliver in the Champions League has been evident in recent seasons, with Ibrahima Konaté and Darwin Núñez just two players who struggled on the European stage.
The two aforementioned players constantly came under fire for their respective struggles in such a competition, which even saw Atletico claim victory at Anfield in recent seasons.
However, their moves away from the Reds has seen the club spend big-money to try and inject the quality needed to push the side closer to a seventh major European title.
Not all of the funds have had the desired effect, as seen with left-back Milos Kerkez, who has massively struggled to emulate the success of Andy Robertson in such an area. Like Jeremie Frimpong on the opposing flank, the full-back has become something of a problem.
Initially, the former Bournemouth star, who joined for £40m last summer, was seen as the long-term solution to fix the issues in such a department - but so far he’s struggled to deliver.
His performance against Atletico on Wednesday night was yet another to forget. Much like Konate, he always seems to be at the centre of the crime. Much like Nunez, he's becoming a liability, albeit defensively. As a result, the 22-year-old is now the latest scapegoat within the fanbase.
The Hungarian was tasked with providing a marauding presence down the left, but struggled to deliver the goods - as seen with his 0% cross success rate.
Kerkez also failed to complete any of the dribbles he attempted during the win at Anfield, with the full-back unable to provide support for youngster Ngumoha.
Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Even without the ball, the defender struggled to meet the demands placed on him by the manager, as he was dribbled past on two separate occasions by the opposition and was caught out with some lazy defending in the build-up to Llorente's opener.
He also failed to make any blocks, whilst also winning just 25% of the tackles he entered - further showcasing his struggles within the attacking third of the pitch.
Liverpool ratings vs Atletico Madrid
Alisson
7/10
Ronald Araújo
8/10
Jeremy Jacquet
6/10
Virgil van Dijk
6/10
Milos Kerkez
3/10
Alexis Mac Allister
7/10
Dominik Szoboszlai
8/10
Bradley Barcola
5/10
Florian Wirtz
6/10
Rio Ngumoha
5/10
Alexander Isak
7/10
As a result of his disappointing display, Kerkez was handed a measly 3/10 match rating, with the left-back a player who is starting to fall into the category of players who are a liability for Liverpool.
After such a showing, the manager desperately needs to try and find a solution to the problem, which could see the defender drop to the bench in the games ahead.
The likes of Konate and Nunez ultimately suffered the same fate during their final months at Anfield, with Kerkez desperately needing to try and avoid joining the pair in being known for his struggles.
3 days ago
8
Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
REUTERS/Phil Noble
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
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