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Arne Slot, Liverpool head coach, shakes hands with the match officials after his side's win over Wolves(Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Arne Slot has confirmed he withdrew Ibrahima Konate at half-time against Wolves because he was fearful that the Liverpool defender would be sent off if he stayed on the pitch.

The France international was booked on the half-hour mark for committing a foul and kicking the ball away, having lost possession in the attacking third.

Konate later avoided a second booking less than 10 minutes later after barging into Matheus Cunha, with Wolves defender Emmanuel Agbadou being issued a yellow card himself for dissent for insisting the Reds centre-back should have been dismissed.

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira would later admit he thought Konate should have been shown his marching orders.

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Slot however felt differently, insisting that he considered both the player's caution and his barge on Cunha as ‘soft yellow cards’ when penalised.

However, he admitted after Konate’s fortuitous escape, he took the decision to replace him with Jarell Quansah at the break to avoid the risk of the defender being sent off.

“Yes, I took him off because of that (that he could get a second yellow card).

I saw him getting his first yellow - that for me was a soft yellow,” Slot said.

“If he had gotten his second one for a shoulder push, that would have again been a soft yellow so he would have been sent off for two soft yellows.

“I think the referee felt the same, that’s why he didn’t (book him again).

I think back to three days ago.

“But for Ibou, it is so difficult to play 45 minutes of football against a strong Wolves team so I had to take him off because you can’t play football knowing in your head you can’t make a foul against such good players as Wolves have.”

Meanwhile, the Liverpool head coach offered an injury update on Cody Gakpo after the forward was absent from the matchday squad against Wolves.

Repeating that he suffered an issue against Everton that forced him off, Slot confirmed Gakpo remains a doubt for the midweek trip to Aston Villa.

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“He got a knock in the Everton game, “ he said.

It wasn’t a soft knock.”


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