Slot shares the ‘ridiculous’ thing he saw at Burnley that led to Kerkez decision

Arne Slot stole the headlines at Turf Moor when he decided to remove Milos Kerkez during the first half of the win against Burnley.

The Reds were frustrated throughout the entirety of the 90 minutes in Lancashire until a moment of “madness” from Hannibal Mejbri offered a lifeline for the champions.

Jeremie Frimpong’s cross struck Hannibal’s hand inside Burnley’s penalty area, and referee Michael Oliver awarded Liverpool a spot-kick in the closing stages of the match.

Mohamed Salah converted the penalty in the 95th minute to secure the three points for the Reds and maintain Slot’s perfect start to the season.

However, Kerkez had an afternoon to forget at Turf Moor after he received a yellow card for simulation and was ultimately substituted in the 38th minute, and now Slot has explained the reasoning behind his decision.

Arne Slot was worried for Milos Kerkez at Turf Moor

During his post-match press conference, Slot revealed that the intense reactions from the home support and the players led to Kerkez being removed during the first half.

“Not only the yellow card, but also that afterwards he played the ball, no foul at all, but the referee blew his whistle, which can always happen because this happens in football.

“But the reaction of the fans and I also saw players of them also trying to go to the referee (saying), ‘If you think this is a foul, maybe you should give a yellow for it.’ Which would have been ridiculous, of course, but then it is a risk.

“The only way we could lose this game is if we are down to 10, because with 11 v 11 we could have drawn it, but we could never have lost it because they have never been… in our 18-yard box. So, then the only way you can lose it is if we go down to 10, and I didn’t want to take that risk, which was hard for Milos because normally you don’t have to take a player off if he has a yellow before, but I felt this was the best choice to make.”

Liverpool supporters were not pleased with Kerkez after his dive and rash decision-making forced Slot into making a needless substitution.

The 21-year-old has endured mixed fortunes since arriving at Anfield in a £40 million deal from Bournemouth at the beginning of the summer.

He played both of Hungary’s World Cup qualifying matches during the international break, and Kerkez was slammed by Hungarian fans following his underwhelming display in the 3-2 loss against Portugal.

Indeed, he has developed a knack for taking one step forward and two steps back – the full-back hit back at Alan Shearer’s criticism with a sensational performance in the previous World Cup qualifier after impressing for the Reds in the 1-0 win against Arsenal.

Andy Robertson replaced Kerkez at Turf Moor and performed to his usual high standards during the match – Slot now has another selection dilemma to contend with ahead of the kick-off of the Champions League campaign when Liverpool host Atletico Madrid.

Arne Slot should drop Milos Kerkez for Atletico Madrid

It has become abundantly clear across his first four Premier League matches for the Reds that Kerkez is not yet at the level to be starting week in, week out.

Of course, Kerkez is the long-term successor to Robertson, and his displays for Bournemouth last season, which saw him named in the PFA Team of the Year and earned him a move to Anfield, warranted an immediate starting berth.

However, he has often been identified as the weak link in the Liverpool backline, even when Ibrahima Konate was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons across the opening two matches.

Therefore, Slot should reinstate his vice captain back into the starting line-up on Wednesday and give Kerkez a respite from the limelight.

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