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Roy Keane and Micah Richards agreed that Arne Slot made the right decision in taking Milos Kerkez off during the first half of Liverpool’s game against Burnley.
The left-back had a day to forget as he suffered the embarrassment of being substituted just 38 minutes into the Reds’ first game back after the international break, despite not carrying an injury.
Kerkez was shown a yellow card midway through the opening 45 minutes for a dive that left former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher fuming, leaving him walking a tightrope for the rest of the game. He could have found himself in further trouble moments later when he was adjudged to have committed a foul on Jaidon Anthony, with referee Michael Oliver choosing not to show a second yellow.
That was enough for Slot to end Kerkez’s afternoon prematurely though, with Andy Robertson making his way off the bench as the Liverpool boss chose not to risk being reduced to 10 men.
Carragher applauded Slot’s decision, with fellow Sky Sports pundits Keane and Richards agreeing that the Reds’ head coach made the right call.
“A little bit of sympathy for Kerkez,” former Manchester United captain Keane said at half-time. “He obviously got the yellow card for a crazy dive. He then makes a fall towards the halfway line.
“Why he is looking to go down? I don't know. The referee and VAR will all be looking at it.
“I am not sure the second one is worth a second yellow but the manager obviously got worried and I think it is the right decision.”
Former Manchester City right-back Richards added: “It is good management. You have to put the team first. One more foul he is off so it is the right call to bring Robertson on.”
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Liverpool.com says: It was absolutely the right call from Slot to bring Kerkez off, rather than risk him getting himself sent off, which looked to be a real possibility.
In truth, it’s not been a great start from Kerkez since his arrival in the summer, and the dive during the first half was the sign of a player trying too hard to produce something.
There’s no doubt about his quality, we saw that at Bournemouth, but he needs to find his feet much sooner now at Liverpool. Based on what we’ve seen so far, Robertson should get the chance to win his place back in the side.
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