Ibrahima Konate not good enough as 33% Liverpool star stinks v Southampton
Ibrahima Konate was nowhere near good enough for Liverpool despite their 3-2 victory over Southampton on Sunday.
The Reds won the tight contest at St Mary’s on 24 November to send themselves eight points clear at the summit of the Premier League.
Dominik Szoboszlai gave the Reds the lead but they were pegged back by Adam Armstrong, who converted the rebound after his penalty was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
The Saints took the lead early in the second half before Mohamed Salah scored his 99th and then 100th away goal for the club to seal the victory.
Jamie Carragher was not impressed by Konate though, saying live on Sky Sports [24 November, 14:39], “I don’t think Konate’s quite on it.
“He hasn’t got the intensity needed.”
Liverpool need more from Ibrahima Konate in second-half
Ibrahima Konate has established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League so far this season.
The Frenchman has been a vital part of a partnership with Virgil van Dijk that had restricted opponents to seven goals in 11 league matches before this contest.
However, the 25-year-old was not at the races in the first half of Sunday’s match (24 November) and the pundit was right in his criticism.
Konate was successful in just one of his three ground duels, giving him a 33 per cent success rate, poor compared to his season average of 66.2 per cent and also committed one foul and was booked in the 16th minute. He did not commit a foul or attempt a ground duel after the interval [Fotmob].
The Frenchman also made three ball recoveries and six passes into the final third. He made two recoveries and four final third passes after the break.
He would end the contest with a 25 per cent success rate from long balls, with one misplaced attempt in the second 45 minutes and his accuracy overall slightly decreased to 93 per cent, 17 completed out of 19 attempts.
It was not his finest day however it did not matter as the Reds still managed to maximize Manchester City’s misery after their 4-0 loss to Tottenham.
In other Liverpool news, a football finance expert has revealed how much Liverpool have made from their Champions League exploits so far this campaign.
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