French media lose the plot after what’s been said about Liverpool star Ibrahima Konate
Ibrahima Konate, much to the relief of Liverpool fans, played without trouble for France on Friday as they beat Ukraine in the World Cup qualifiers.
Arne Slot was concerned when Konate was forced off injured against Arsenal last week, with the Reds staring down the barrel of an early-season crisis at the back.
Liverpool tried to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace on transfer deadline day but the move fell apart, and just three other central-defenders remained at Anfield.
But Konate started for France despite the injury scare, and completed the 90 minutes as goals from Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe earned Didier Deschamps’ side the win.
Ibrahima Konate in brilliant form for France
Konate was in strong form for France, and earned a clean sheet for his efforts on the night.
The defender won all of his aerial duals, and was active in the box as Les Bleus restricted their hosts to just eight shots in Poland.
And on the ball, the 26-year-old completed 91 per cent of his passes, which included seven into the final third.
The pick of Konate’s involvements, however, was a hugely impressive goal-line clearance to deny Ukraine what looked to be a certain goal.
A header at the back post looked to have looped over goalkeeper Mike Maignan before it spun towards the net, but the Liverpool man surged back to head it off the line and away from goal in a remarkable piece of defending to preserve the clean sheet.
French media give Ibrahima Konate harsh rating despite heroics
Despite his clean sheet and goal-line heroics, L’Equipe’s ratings on Friday gave Konate a score that would indicate a performance narrowly above the average – six.
The French outlet are notoriously harsh in their ratings, but even for them, the defender’s score would seem to be ridiculous.
The 26-year-old was integral to France’s clean sheet and, alongside Dayot Upamecano, was rock solid for Deschamps’ side throughout the 90 minutes.
| Ibrahima Konate | Vs Ukraine |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Accurate passes | 48 |
| Cleared off the line | 1 |
| Recoveries | 3 |
| Duels won | 4 |
Such a rating begs the question, what could Konate have done to receive higher praise for his performance?
Should he have embarked on a 70-yard dribble to score, or launched a shot to chip the keeper from the halfway line?
The 26-year-old may be asking the same question, but will, in all likelihood, be happy with his team’s victory and his clean sheet.
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