Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has been widely criticised for his many of his performances this season, and once again he was criticised by Liverpool supporters and pundits after the Reds’ 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at the weekend.
There has been considerable speculation regarding the French defender’s future, with his current contract expiring next summer, and the constant rumours that Real Madrid are keen on signing him on a free contract if he doesn’t sign again for Liverpool.
Konate and Virgil van Dijk have been cornerstones of Liverpool’s success in recent years, with their partnership in defence being so vital.
But this season Liverpool have been losing so many goals, and Konate has been the main target of criticism for the Champions’ defensive problems.
It is true that Konate’s performances this season have not been up to his high standards, and he was involved in a few key moments in Liverpool’s defeat to City, for example, he got into a mess with Conor Bradley as Liverpool conceded a penalty, before poor defending resulted in Haaland heading City into the lead.
These key moments mentioned don’t help Konate regarding assessments on his overall performance, but the team in general is not clicking, and there is very clear lack of cohesion in the entire team this season.
Last Liverpool looked far more in control in games, and far more solid defensively after new manager Arne Slot tweaked a few things after inheriting Jurgen Klopp’s talented squad.
But after Slot’s summer spending spree, the manager is having trouble integrating the new signings into the team with success.
Konate has been a bit of a scapegoat for criticism this season, but he has shown he is still a great defender with his strong performance against Arsenal and more recently Real Madrid, two of the best teams in Europe.
Too often this season Konate is not getting protection from the midfield in front, and left exposed. Gravenberch seems to be playing a different role from last season, and isn’t giving the same protection he did last season.
The midfielder is playing slightly higher up the park and Konate is looking more vulnerable, also the chopping and changing at right back isn’t helping with new signing Frimpong, Bradley and Szoboszlai all featuring in defence this season.
All these little factors are having an effect on Konate and the quicker Slot finds a settled formation and solution, then the quicker we will see Konate at his best.
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