Ahead of Sunday's game, Florian Wirtz was on a run of five goals and two assists in ten matches for Liverpool - his best run of form for the club to date.
Signed from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m last summer, the Germany international is still looking to justify his price tag and his start to 2026 has gone a little way to doing that.
In fact, only Igor Thiago and Viktor Gyokeres have scored more goals in all competitions than Wirtz for Premier League clubs since the turn of the year.
The German playmaker, however, struggled against Manchester City on Sunday. He only created one chance for his teammates and did not create any 'big chances'.
salah-liverpool-wirtz
Wirtz also missed a very presentable opening to score for the Reds when he tried to place the ball into the bottom corner instead of going for power, which allowed Marc Guehi to get a block on the tame effort.
Despite that disappointing performance from the £116m signing, Cody Gakpo is even more frustrating than the former Bundesliga attacking midfielder.
Why Cody Gakpo is more frustrating than Florian Wirtz
Whilst Wirtz, Sunday's game aside, has largely turned his form around and started to show his quality at the top end of the pitch, Gakpo is currently on a poor run of form.
cody-gakpo-liverpool-man-city
The Netherlands international's blank against Manchester City now means that he has failed to produce a goal or an assist in his last five games in the Premier League, which also takes his tally to one goal and zero assists in his last ten games in the division.
He also has just three goals and one assist in his last 20 appearances in all competitions for the Reds, with his last goal coming against Marseille in the Champions League.
The former PSV winger has been incredibly inconsistent, with five goals in 19 Premier League starts, and his lack of end product, particularly recently, is why he has been such a frustrating player.
There is a Liverpool player at the other end of the pitch who has been just as frustrating as Gakpo, though, and should finally be moved on in the summer.
The Liverpool flop who should finally be moved on
Gakpo is among the top 20 most expensive signings in the club's history, with his £40m move from PSV in 2023, and Ibrahima Konate is also up there because of his £35m switch from RB Leipzig.
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The France international's time at Anfield may be coming to an end, though, because his contract at the club is due to expire at the end of the season.
Arne Slot has confirmed that the Reds "are still in talks" with Konate over a possible new contract with the club, but Rennes starlet Jeremy Jacquet has agreed to join in the summer, and he could be seen as his compatriot's replacement.
ibrahima-konate-liverpool
With the 20-year-old centre-back due to join Liverpool ahead of the 2026/27 campaign, Slot could finally bin the ex-RB Leipzig flop on a free transfer at the end of June.
Instead of handing him a new contract, the Reds could revamp their defence by parting ways with Konate, who has been as frustrating as Gakpo this season.
The France international was slow to react to the play for Bernardo Silva's equaliser and, as a result, lost his aerial duel to Erling Haaland, who flicked the ball on to set up the Portuguese midfielder.
Writer Graeme Kelly posted that the central defender "constantly gets beat" in the air for a player of his size after losing that duel to Haaland, which seems like a fair criticism on the evidence of City's equaliser.
Unfortunately, lost duels and errors have become the theme of Konate's season for the Reds, which is why he has been as frustrating as Gakpo in recent months, as the mistakes, like Gakpo's struggles in front of goal, are tainting his performances.
Konate (25/26) Premier League Champions League
Appearances 24 6
Ground duel success rate 65% 50%
Aerial duel success rate 72% 83%
Error led to shot 3 1
Error led to goal 0 1
Penalties committed 1 0
The 26-year-old flop has made six errors that have led to shots, goals, or penalties for the opposition in the Premier League and Champions League this term, after making five such errors in the entirety of the 2024/25 campaign in both competitions.
He has allowed too many basic mistakes, in duels and with the ball at his feet, to creep into his game this year, and it has come at a bad time with his contract running out.
ibrahima-konate-liverpool
Liverpool must be ruthless and finally axe him from the squad when his contract expires in the summer because he has been too error-prone this season, and Slot has a new signing ready to come in when the summer window opens, after the Jacquet deal went through on deadline day.
Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull Jurgen Klopp before the game Related
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The Reds are eyeing a move for a defender.