Ibrahima Konate has been an easy target this season for Liverpool having put in a number of catastrophic performances.
The centre-back has made numerous costly errors, garnering a reputation as an accident waiting to happen for the Reds.
In fact, Konate has been so bad at times that many Liverpool supporters are no longer bothered if he walks away on a free transfer at the end of the season.
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Who was Liverpool’s best player during the disappointing draw at Fulham?
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While that view may not have changed completely, the Frenchman has improved notably in recent weeks.
Against Leeds, it was a surprise to see Konate as Liverpool’s most incisive forward passer. The defender created two good openings for Hugo Ekitike which his countryman could have done better with. During Sunday’s match against Fulham, Konate was at it again.
Ibrahima Konate becoming better on the ball
Throughout his Liverpool career, Konate has had to deal with accusations that he is not especially comfortable with the ball at his feet.
For a large period, that has looked like a fair assessment. But over the last handful of matches, he has started to refute that notion.
Raul Jimenez faced with Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley during Fulham's Premier League match against Liverpool at Craven Cottage
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Against Fulham, Konate brought the ball out of defence with ease, often picking out a Liverpool teammate at the end of it.
He was not quite Joel Matip, but it was still nice to see Konate add this new dimension to his game. If only he could have done it a little sooner.
If the 26-year-old is to leave at the end of the campaign, Liverpool must ensure they bring in a player with similar attributes. Opposition teams tend to sit off the Reds’ right-sided centre-back and instead focus on closing down Virgil van Dijk.
But as Konate has begun to show, Liverpool can really use this to their advantage if they can get it right.
Can Liverpool take any positives from the draw at Fulham?
Alexis Mac Allister congratulates Florian Wirtz after his goal for Liverpool during the Premier League match against Fulham at Craven Cottage (Credit: Getty Images/Clive Rose).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Clive Rose
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Konate shows Liverpool teammates how it’s done
Although it was great to see Konate striding through and really thinking about his usage of the ball, it did at times put his teammates to shame.
There is no way that the Liverpool No. 5 should be relied upon to create something in this team, but that is what has been happening.
Perhaps it is because other Liverpool players are failing to step up that Konate has had to come out of his shell passing-wise, and maybe that can be a long-term positive.
But at the moment it really underlines just what a lack of creativity the Reds have right now.
This is not Konate’s job. And although he is currently doing it well, Liverpool fans should maybe hope to see less of it going forward.
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