“He doesn’t bulls**t around” – Liverpool fans hail ‘solid and always focused’ player for ‘colossal’ display against Inter Milan
Liverpool fans are proud of the performance put in by young centre-back Ibrahima Konate against Inter Milan in their Champions League Round of 16 clash on Wednesday.
Jurgen Klopp decided to start Konate ahead of regular centre-back Joel Matip and it worked out brilliantly. The 22-year-old defender was instrumental alongside Virgil van Dijk in keeping a clean sheet at the San Siro.
Konate made a game-changing interception in the first half. He blocked an incoming cross from Denzel Dumfries, with Edin Dzeko lurking behind him to tap the ball home. In total, the Frenchman made four interceptions, two tackles and blocked two shots in the 90 minutes play at the San Siro.
Liverpool fans lauded the young defender on Twitter, with many believing he would have a similar impact for the club as Van Dijk in the future.
Here are some of the best tweets in that regard:
@SamMcGuire90 Van Dijk 2.0 He doesn’t bullshit around
@brfootball Konate is the future goat CB. He’s so good
Konate will leave a similar legacy to Van Dijk… #LFC twitter.com/brfootball/sta…
Monster Man konate really deserves to be starting almost all the game with van dijk this season
Colossal performance from Konate tonight 💪🔴 https://t.co/rarpzq6HFG
@TheKop_com Absolute monster and only going to get better the more he plays with big Virgil.
@TheKop_com He has been so good. The future/present is bright.
🏻@TheKop_com Absolute class! He’s solid and always focused 👏🏻👏🏻
Van Dijk & Konate have been absolutely untouchable tonight, 10/10s each
@Kieran82424606 Pretty sure Konate has been as good as Van Dijk so far
Liverpool secured a hard-fought 2-0 win over Inter Milan on Wednesday night. Second-half goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah were enough for the Reds to take the lead in the tie. The second leg will now be played on 8 March at Anfield.
Ibrahima Konate, meanwhile, arrived at Liverpool in the 2021 summer transfer window from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig for a fee of £36 million. The defender has so far made 15 appearances this season, with the Reds winning 12 of those matches. This included a famous 5-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
With Konate just 22 years old, Jurgen Klopp is giving him enough game time to develop rather than throwing him into the starting XI at every given opportunity. Konate could be seen as the long-term partner to Virgil van Dijk at the heart of Liverpool's defense.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has given regular game time to youngsters this season
Ibrahima Konate is not the only youngster to have had regular game time under Jurgen Klopp. The likes of Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, Neco Williams and Caoimhin Kelleher have all featured quite regularly for the Reds this season.
Kelleher has been used as the domestic cup goalkeeper by Jurgen Klopp this season. The 54-year-old tactician has confirmed that the 23-year-old shot-stopper will start ahead of Alisson Becker in the Carabao Cup final.
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will start the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea. “He has shown he deserves all the trust and faith that we have in him. So that is the situation. He brought the team there [to Wembley].”
The Reds take on Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on 27 February at Wembley Stadium.