Forget Konate, 19-touch flop proves Arne Slot made the wrong change for Liverpool

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Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the 2025/26 campaign following the 2-1 loss against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Ismaila Sarr loves facing the Reds, and the Senegalese international scored his second goal of the season against the champions as he opened the scoring at Selhurst Park.

Federico Chiesa scored what appeared to be the equaliser in the 87th minute, his side’s eighth goal scored in the final ten minutes this season, but Liverpool got a taste of their own medicine.

Following a botched clearance by Milos Kerkez, Crystal Palace launched a throw-in deep into the Reds’ penalty area, where the ball fell kindly to Eddie Nketiah, who snatched the three points for the hosts with the last kick of the game.

While the Liverpool supporters scolded Ibrahima Konate for another woeful display in a Liverpool shirt, there is another player who was virtually non-existent in South London.

Arne Slot should have substituted Alexander Isak at half-time

With the Reds trailing by a goal, Arne Slot decided to introduce Cody Gakpo in place of Conor Bradley for the second half to add another attacking threat.

The 26-year-old failed to make a recognisable impact alongside his fellow attackers as Dean Henderson remained relatively untested throughout the clash.

However, Alexander Isak’s form at Selhurst Park will be a serious cause of concern for Slot as his £125 million man was barely noticeable despite playing 84 minutes.

For reference, Alisson had three times more touches of the ball than Isak on Saturday, the Swede recorded fewer touches than any other player on the pitch.

Furthermore, the Swede missed a golden chance to equalise for the Reds in the second half, but his close-range shot fizzled past the post – had Isak scored, his side could have claimed a share of the spoils.

Although Hugo Ekitike’s absence from the clash via suspension meant Isak was forced to play more minutes than Slot initially intended, the supporters will have undoubtedly expected more from the club’s record signing.

Isak is becoming a problem at Liverpool, and similar to the situation surrounding Florian Wirtz, patience is wearing thin with the £241m duo.

Florian Wirtz is having a crisis at Liverpool

There has been a lot of talk since Wirtz arrived on Merseyside about the German needing time to settle into life in English football, but how long must his underwhelming displays continue before it is considered enough?

Indeed, adapting from the Bundesliga to the Premier League is a monumental change, but considering Ekitike has hit the ground running at Anfield, it is hardly far-fetched to expect the same of Wirtz.

At the end of the day, Liverpool paid a significant amount of money to acquire his services from Bayer Leverkusen, and yet Slot has been forced to revert to the midfield three that won the league title last season.

Now that Wirtz has struggled once again, in a new position on the left flank, it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how Slot can justify selecting the German moving forward unless the performances improve dramatically.