Liverpool boss Arne Slot hooks £40m defender before halftime after embarrassing attempt to win a penalty against Burnley.
Liverpool’s hard-fought victory over Burnley was marred by a moment of pure folly from defender Milos Kerkez, who was publicly lambasted by pundits for an embarrassing dive that saw him hauled off by manager Arne Slot before halftime.
The incident occurred in the first half at Turf Moor when the 21-year-old summer signing, in a promising attacking position, chose to throw himself to the ground under minimal contact from Burnley’s Josh Laurent in a blatant attempt to win a penalty.
The theatrics were not fooling anyone. Referee Michael Oliver immediately brandished a yellow card for simulation, a decision met with full approval from the Sky Sports commentary team.
Jamie Carragher did not hold back in his criticism, calling the act “absolutely ridiculous” and “stupid.” “It was a dive, there’s absolutely no doubt about that,” Carragher stated. “I don’t think anybody in the stadium thought it wasn’t. He’s in a really good position; he can probably swing his foot around that and get a cross in.”
Kerkez’s difficult half worsened minutes later when he committed a reckless foul near the halfway line, putting himself at serious risk of a second yellow card. Recognizing the danger, manager Arne Slot took the decisive and brutal step of substituting the embarrassed defender after just 37 minutes, bringing on Andy Robertson in his place.
Cameras captured Slot grabbing Kerkez for a firm word as he trudged off the pitch, a moment of tough love that the pundits fully endorsed.
Carragher praised the manager’s swift action: “I think it’s really good management from Arne Slot… The manager’s talking [to him] about that. This game is going to be about counter attack, if he gets caught 1v1 and something happens, second yellow and he’s off.”
Roy Keane agreed wholeheartedly, siding with Slot’s proactive decision. “The circumstances are he got a yellow card for a crazy dive,” Keane said. “He then makes a foul towards the halfway line and Slot knows that Burnley are playing on the counterattack… The manager got worried.”
The very public hooking serves as a harsh lesson for the young defender, whose up-and-down start to his Liverpool career hit a new low with a moment of poor judgment that overshadowed his team’s eventual victory.
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