‘Immense’ was the word Rio Ferdinand used to describe the performance of Liverpool’s centre backs in their 2-0 win at Inter Milan on Wednesday night.
Four years and three major trophies into his Liverpool career, Virgil van Dijk is well used to those sort of superlatives by now, but for 22-year-old Ibrahima Konate the performance and the praise that has followed feels like a coming of age moment.
Konate has been eased in gently by Jurgen Klopp this season, appearing in just 15 of their 38 matches in all competitions, but his record speaks for itself with Liverpool unbeaten in those games, 14 of which he’s started, winning 11 and drawing four.
Ibrahima Konate (right) high-fives with Virgil van Dijk after their clean sheet at Inter Milan
Konate keeps a watchful eye on Inter striker Edin Dzeko during the Champions League clash
Though Joel Matip has been Van Dijk’s regular partner in the Premier League, Klopp has taken to selecting Konate for the biggest matches – the 5-0 win at United, the 2-2 draw at Chelsea and now for the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against Inter, the most important game of Liverpool’s season so far.
Konate’s performance at the San Siro had it all. From heroic tackles and interceptions, to intuitive positioning and a calmness on the ball that Klopp demands from all of his players.
It is easy to see why he felt the need to persuade the club to fork out £36million to sign the 6ft 4in Frenchman from RB Leipzig – who made a huge profit having signed him for free from Sochaux in 2017 – last summer.
One particular piece of defending late in the first half showcased all of Konate’s attributes in one move.
As Denzel Dumfries was freed down the right flank, Edin Dzeko made a beeline for the back post with only Konate for company as Van Dijk was caught upfield.
Dumfries needed to hit the ball first time and he did, almost perfectly, but Konate’s positioning, awareness and athleticism was so good that it allowed him time to slide in and put the ball out for a corner in the nick of time.
Had he been running on a different line or lacked the pace and timing to make the interception then Dzeko would have been left with a relatively simple finish.
Had Dumfries gone the aerial route or carried on dribbling, Konate was perfectly positioned for both of those threats too.
Konate showcased all of his natural defending and footballing ability on Wednesday night
Inter’s Arturo Vidal tries in vain to win possession back off Konate at the San Siro
So, with Konate looking so good against Inter, and for most of his first season at Anfield, it begs two questions: 1) Why has Klopp been so careful with his introduction? 2) Can we expect to see him playing more regularly now?
Klopp has been careful with Konate for three reasons. Firstly, Konate missed large chunks of the last two seasons with a recurring hip problem, so Klopp does not want to overload him, especially at such a young age.
Secondly, the Liverpool boss seems to have learned his lessons from last season, when he went in with only three recognised centre backs and saw all three suffer long-term injuries. He seems intent on rotating the four centre backs he describes as ‘word class’ – Van Dijk, Matip, Konate and Joe Gomez – to avoid a repeat situation.
Konate celebrates with goalkeeper Alisson
Thirdly, Klopp always takes his time to embed new signings. Much like Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Klopp’s style of play is so intense and demanding that he almost needs to deconstruct a player first before remoulding them to fit his team.
He did that with the likes of Andy Robertson, Fabinho and Thiago and seems to be doing the same with Konate, who was used to playing in a back three at RB Leipzig.
So that answers our second question too: we can expect to see Konate continuing to be rotated with Liverpool’s other centre backs. He is, however, quickly emerging as Klopp’s go-to man for big games, which is not a bad position to be in as we near the business end of the season.
By using Matip and Gomez, who has struggled to get back to the heights of the title-winning 2019-20 season since his knee injury, for bread-and-butter Premier League games, Konate can be kept fresh for the big Champions League knockout matches, as well as the latter stages of the FA Cup and potentially the Carabao Cup final.
International recognition shouldn’t be far away for Konate either, even given France’s wealth of options at centre back. Playing in this year’s World Cup is a realistic target.
Konate’s potential is frightening given how good he is already at 22, and under Klopp’s guidance, with the experience of Van Dijk and Matip alongside him, the centre of Liverpool’s defence looks like it’ll be a solid as a rock for years to come.