Milos Kerkez had a day to forget at Burnley after he was hooked by his manager just 38 minutes in to avoid being sent off.
The Liverpool left back was walking a tightrope after he was booked for diving by referee Michael Oliver.
As he continued to struggle in the minutes that followed, Reds boss Arne Slot saw enough to pull him out of the action and replace him with Andrew Robertson after 38 minutes.
It is the first time during Slot’s tenure at Liverpool that he has substituted a non-injured player off during the first half.
‘I think that’s good management from Slot,’ former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports commentator Jamie Carragher said.
‘What Kerkez did in the first half – with the booking – was ridiculous.’
Milos Kerkez had a first half to forget as he was substituted off after 38 minutes at Burnley
He was booked by ref Michael Oliver for diving and was a red card risk from that moment on
It has been a tough start to life at Liverpool for Kerkez, who joined this summer after impressing at AFC Bournemouth.
But fellow Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane was not interested in hearing that he is a young player who needs time to adapt to a new environment.
‘The circumstances is he got a yellow card for a crazy dive. He then makes a foul towards the halfway line and Slot knows that Burnley are playing on the counter attack, so if Kerkez makes one more mistake…’ Keane said.
‘Why is he looking to go down [for the dive]? He’s made an impression alright!
‘The second one [on Jaidon Anthony] is a foul, not sure it’s a second yellow but the manager got worried.’
