“He is an amazing, fantastic player” - Virgil van Dijk showers praises on in-form Liverpool star following win over Wolverhampton Wanderers
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk showered praise on his defensive partner Ibrahima Konate following the Reds' 2-1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Frenchman opened the scoring for the Reds against Gary O'Neil's side but made an error that led to Wolves equalizing.
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored a quick goal from the spot to get back to the lead and the Reds eventually won the game 2-1. Following the game, van Dijk heaped praise on Konate and insisted that he was unfortunate to make an error leading to a goal.
Van Dijk stated that Konate is an amazing defender who can still get a lot better as he gets more experience. He also claimed that the Reds have another solid centre-back option in Jarell Quansah.
Speaking to the official LFC website, the Dutchman said:
“We need everyone to be at their best. Ibou is an amazing, fantastic player who can still be better. He is defensively solid and was a bit unlucky with the goal that we conceded but the qualities he has, he is outstanding."
The former Celtic and Southampton defender added:
“He is learning and he is growing, getting better and looking after himself much better, to be ready every three days – and also he has a young player behind him in Jarell [Quansah] who is also a good one, so they keep pushing each other.”
Konate has been solid for Liverpool since his reported £36 million move from RB Leipzig in 2021. He has so far made 97 appearances for the Merseyside giants and has won four trophies for the club.
Arne Slot aims a dig at Liverpool defender following his comments after Wolves win
Liverpool manager Arne Slot aimed a cheeky dig at his star defender Ibrahima Konate after his side's 2-1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Frenchman joked that he deserved the Player of the Match award rather than Ryan Gravenberch.
Konate scored the opener for the Reds with a header but it was his error that led to Wolves equalizing through Rayan Ait-Nouri. Mohamed Salah scored the eventual winner from the spot which Diogo Jota won.
Arne Slot reacted to Konate's claims and reminded him that his side conceded a poor goal because of his error. The Dutchman said:
"Konate? Ibrahima Konate? OK. Then he maybe forgot the moment that we conceded the goal. Maybe that was the reason why we conceded, he wasn't there at the moment because, to say the least, it was avoidable."
Slot added:
"The goal we conceded was definitely avoidable and it was unnecessary. It came at a bad time because we had total control over the game. By conceding this way, they came back into the game and the good thing for us, is we immediately scored to make it 2-1. With only one goal making the difference, it makes it a difficult game until the end."
Liverpool have enjoyed a really impressive start to Arne Slot's tenure at Anfield after the Dutchman replaced Jurgen Klopp in the dugout. With five wins in six Premier League games, they currently sit atop the Premier League table.