Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté endured a tough night in Croatia with France
French media delivered a brutal assessment of Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté following his performance in France’s 2-0 loss to Croatia in the Nations League quarter finals on Thursday night.
The Reds defender gave away a penalty in the eighth minute after handling the ball inside the 18-yard box. Andrej Kramaric missed the spot kick but the hosts scored twice before half-time to take a 2-0 advantage back to Paris on Sunday.
Konate was withdrawn at half time, with the France national team reporting he had sustained a knock. The news is a concern for Liverpool, who have already seen Ryan Gravenberch withdraw from international duty because of an injury he sustained in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United. The Reds are already without Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Bradley in defence.
Konate rated by French media
Following his performance against Croatia, Konate was handed a 2/10 performance by L’Equipe. Get French Football News gave him a 3/10, as they wrote: “It was a night to forget for the Liverpool centre-back. The defender gave away a reckless penalty in the early stages of the game after clumsily handling the ball in his area. This mistake went unpunished, but defensively he looked shaky alongside [William] Saliba.”
Konate was far from the only France player to have an off night, Arsenal man Saliba was only given a 3/10 rating by L’Equipe while Get French Football News rated him at 4/10. Foot Mercato assessed Konate’s performance as 3/10, with Saliba again scoring 4/10. The highest rating for a French player was 6/10 by the media outlets, who carried a tone of disappointment with the majority of the squad.
Dayot Upamecano replaced Konate, and said afterwards: "We started the match badly, we lost a lot of balls, we weren't there in the duels, there was a good reaction in the second half and we're going to play for qualification at the Stade de France now.”
Liverpool will hope Konate injury is not serious
The Reds cannot afford to lose another defender with Gomez, Bradley and Alexander-Arnold all sidelined. Centre-back Jarrell Quansah is expected to play at right-back until one of Bradley or Alexander-Arnold return, with both men due back around mid-April.
Wataru Endo is able to fill in at centre-back but he may be needed in defensive midfield if Gravenberch’s injury rules him out for any of Liverpool’s Premier League games next month. Konate has spent time out already this season, after picking up an injury against Real Madrid in November. He missed eight matches but has been fit since. He was unable to finish 120 minutes against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League but did return for the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle.
In other news, Liverpool have 'begun talks' to sign Man Utd & Chelsea target as Darwin Nunez's exit is 'practically assured'.