Ibrahima Konate has his mojo back at Liverpool – here’s how

Ibrahima Konate wanted to speak with Gary Neville.

After leaving the pitch at Molineux last Saturday to learn that Sky Sports had asked to speak to him, the Liverpool defender assumed he had won the man of the match award.

Topless, after giving his shirt to a young away supporter after the 2-1 victory, he returned to the dressing room to collect a jacket before proceeding with his interview. Konate belatedly realized that he was actually there to present the award to teammate Ryan Gravenberch.

“How is this possible?” Today I scored and saved one or two balls, and I didn’t deserve it? What happened?” Konaté laughed. “Congratulations brother. Who decided? Gary Neville?!”

His mild protests continued shortly afterwards to LFCTV: “I don’t understand why Gary Neville gave Ryan man of the match with what I did. We need to talk to him! Everything is fine… I’m very happy for Ryan. He is incredible and plays with confidence.

Shortly afterwards, in his own interview on Sky Sports, head coach Arne Slot bluntly summed up why Konate was not the recipient. “Maybe he forgot that moment when we conceded a goal,” he observed. “It was avoidable to say the least.”

The French international had erased his notebook by hesitating and allowing Jorgen Strand Larsen to intervene and create the equalizer for Rayan Ait-Nouri. Konaté had been too optimistic, but his price claims were not so far-fetched.

As well as ending his three-year wait for a first Premier League goal by heading home in the opening game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, he had played a pivotal role as Liverpool secured a scrappy victory after Mohamed Salah restored his lead from the penalty spot. He atoned for his earlier mistake with a crucial last-ditch challenge on Carlos Forbs before coming to the rescue again to fend off Matheus Cunha late on.

More than anything, his comedic TV interviews showed that his sense of humor and self-confidence have been restored after a dark end to last season.

Fast forward to April and his form had dropped so much that he couldn’t complain about losing his place alongside Virgil van Dijk to rookie Jarell Quansah.

Konate was bullied by Gianluca Scamacca in the 3-0 Europa League quarter-final first leg defeat to Atalanta at Anfield and it was a similar story against Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the miserable derby reverse from Merseyside to Goodison. With his confidence damaged, Konaté played no part in the final four matches of Jurgen Klopp’s reign.

Van Dijk tried to keep his spirits up by reminding him of the heights he was capable of reaching and he appreciated the captain’s unwavering support. The summer initially brought little respite as he remained on the bench throughout France’s run to the Euro semi-finals where they lost to Spain.

However, a new era at Liverpool meant a fresh start and when he met Slot for the first time in Philadelphia midway through the pre-season tour of America in July, the Dutchman left him in no doubt about the rating he granted him.

Konate’s name featured prominently in internal discussions about players who had suffered a decline and had great potential to start with good guidance from Slot and his team.

It was no surprise that the 25-year-old did not start the opening weekend at newly-promoted Ipswich Town, given their short pre-season and Quansah’s form in friendlies, but after 45 minutes at Portman Road, Slot decided Liverpool needed an injection of physicality. He was not satisfied with the number of duels his team lost.

Quansah made way and Konate has started every game since, with the exception of the Carabao Cup win over West Ham United, where he had a night off.

He has won 29 of his 39 duels (74%) in the Premier League and this figure is even more impressive when only aerial duels are included, winning 22 of 26 (85%).

Konate also made a significant impact going forward. He had not scored since the FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City at Wembley in April 2022 before ending that drought when he headed in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick in Manchester City’s victory. the Champions League last month against AC Milan at San Siro.

His distribution has also shown signs of improvement and so far this season he has completed 370 of 408 passes (91%). In the home win over Bournemouth, he recorded his first Premier League assist with a precise pass to release Luis Diaz. Konate also played an important role in Liverpool’s third goal – turning defense into attack with another long pass to Darwin Nunez, who then combined expertly with Mohamed Salah.

Manager Aaron Briggs has worked closely with the club’s analysts to try to maximize the aerial threat from Slot’s centre-backs and it is paying off. Konate set a target of four goals for the season after scoring at San Siro and he is already halfway there after nodding in Diogo Jota’s cross at Molineux.

“Ibou is a fantastic player who can still be better,” Van Dijk told reporters after the Wolves match. “As you saw, he is important with the goal. He is solid defensively, a little unlucky with the goal we conceded, but obviously his qualities are exceptional in my opinion.

“He is learning, growing, improving and taking much better care of himself to be ready every three days as is required. And we also have a young player behind him in Jarell, who is also doing well. We have to keep pushing ourselves and he’s doing a good job.

It is a sign of how Konate’s Liverpool career has stalled since arriving from RB Leipzig for £36 million ($47.7 million) in 2021 that he has made just 97 appearances (84 starts) for the club in all competitions.

After an excellent second half in his first season at Anfield that saw him start ahead of Joel Matip in the 2022 Champions League final against Real Madrid in his hometown of Paris, he failed to start. His 2022-23 campaign was heavily interrupted by injuries and there were other muscular issues last season before Quansah’s emergence limited his playing time.

So far, Slot’s less intense training regime and playing style suits Konate. He was able to stay in shape and create the kind of momentum that had previously eluded him. Through one-on-one meetings and the use of video analysis, the head coach has explained exactly how he wants his defenders to build from the back. When teams press high, Konate has been encouraged to look for the long ball to exploit space in behind, as he did against Bournemouth.

There is also a belief internally that Konate is benefiting from the changes to the team structure. For starters, he has less ground to cover now that Alexander-Arnold plays as a more orthodox right-back. With the vice-captain being more selective about when he drifts into central areas when Liverpool are in possession, Konate is not constantly trying to cover two positions.

In front of Konate there is the added protection provided by Gravenberch, who is so comfortable receiving the ball and keeping it in tight spaces. Next to him is Van Dijk, who has returned to his best level. Liverpool were ragged at times against Wolves, but in general they played with more control and were much less susceptible to counter-attacks with less exposed defenders.

The collective strength around him certainly helped, but Konate also deserves a lot of credit for how he turned things around. Liverpool currently have bigger contract priorities, but Konate’s will also need to be addressed in the near future as his current deal only runs until 2026.

The French international spent his day off on Sunday with his family at his home in Paris. He grew up in a difficult neighborhood in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, the second youngest in a family of eight children. An unwavering work ethic and the need to remain humble were ingrained in him by his parents Hamadi and Yara, who arrived in France as immigrants from Mali.

These qualities stood him in good stead during a difficult time. A big personality in the Liverpool dressing room has found his mojo again.

(Top photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)