Ibrahima Konate proves he’s undroppable in Liverpool draw v Manchester United
Ibrahima Konate starred on his return as Liverpool drew 2-2 with Manchester United on Sunday.
The Reds could have gone eight points clear at the top of the Premier League with victory but were forced to settle for a six-point margin after Amad Diallo levelled proceedings late on.
Cody Gakpo and a Mohamed Salah penalty had given Arne Slot’s side the lead after Lisandro Martinez had opened the scoring in the 52nd-minute on 5 January.
The result will feel like a loss for the Merseysiders due to the poor form that United were in before the clash but the Frenchman’s performance on his return from injury was a rare positive.
Ibrahima Konate return could win Liverpool the league
The result is not the end of the world for the Anfield outfit, they are still six points clear and have a game in hand on their title rivals after Arsenal dropped points on Saturday (4 January).
The form of Konate on his return was a highlight for the Reds, after the 25-year-old missed the whole of December with a knee injury suffered against Real Madrid on 27 November.
Before that, he was arguably outperforming Virgil van Dijk and was a contender for the title of the Premier League’s best defender and had been named as a contender for the France captaincy in the absence of Kylian Mbappe.
The former RB Leipzig man and the Dutchman had a lot more to do in the Anfield contest than usual with potentially Madrid bound Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson constantly struggling to defend the flanks.
However, Konate was impressive on his comeback as he made seven clearances, six recoveries, five interceptions, and three blocks against Ruben Amorim’s side. [Fotmob]
He was even better when it came to duels, with the French international winning six out of seven aerial battles for an 86 per cent success rate and the only ground duel he contested for a 100 per cent success rate.
The defender, signed for £36million in 2021, is not known for his passing abilities and it is even potentially his biggest weakness in a team that likes to play it around the back in their build-up play.
Despite that, Konate completed the most passes in the match with 50, made 16 passes into the final third as he tried to drive the Reds forward and recorded a pass accuracy of 82 per cent, misplacing 11 passes.
His side may have conceded two goals but neither the French defender nor van Dijk were responsible for that with their full-backs putting on a horror show.
That is the major worry with Konate, he has missed a total of 46 matches for the Reds across his four seasons at the club and that is perhaps why he does not get the recognition he deserves.
The fitness of the Paris-born colossus may be the difference between whether Slot’s side wins the league title or not, he is that important to the Anfield side and needs to stay fit in the run-in.
In other Liverpool news, Roy Keane has savaged Trent Alexander-Arnold for his performance against the Red Devils.
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