If there’s one that game could be held up as a microcosm of Liverpool’s rollercoaster season, it came at Anfield last weekend. Jurgen Klopp’s side demonstrated every side of their current nature – from shockingly bad to thrillingly good – in coming from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against long-time Premier League leaders Arsenal. Such was their dominance in the second half, though, there was a sense the Reds had once again fallen short as they have done with all of their main objectives this season, epitomised when, in the last seconds of an enthralling encounter, Ibrahima Konate couldn’t quite gain enough purchase on his effort to bundle Darwin Nunez’s header down over the line before Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale made a scrambling save. Not that anyone at Liverpool was blaming the Frenchman for the miss.
Ibrahim Konate said: “No-one reproached me at all in the dressing room because most of all I put in a really good performance. I was proud of my performance in the second half personally. True, it was a golden opportunity but maybe with my size it would have been better if it had fallen to someone who is a little bit smaller who could decide whether to shoot or head it. Of course, we would have preferred to have won the game but at the end of the day a draw coming back from 2-0 down against the league leaders is a decent draw.”
While a number of flashpoints roused the Anfield crowd from their first-half stupor, none quite prompted the instant increase in volume as Konate’s thunderously fair challenge that wiped out Granit Xhaka shortly after half-time.
Ibrahim Konate said: “It was a top tackle, an impressive tackle, and it not only gave us a boost but it also gave a certain amount of energy to the stadium and gave everyone a lift – the people in the ground and the team on the field. But I don’t think you can point that out as the sole reason (for the team’s improvement). I think in the second half we all put in a shift, we all raised our intensity and levels and had a big impact, we were more impactful as a group of players which made things better for us in the second half. Hopefully if we can keep that intensity level up to the end of the season it will be a positive for us to take forward and make us perform all the way through these last few games.”
There haven’t been enough such game-defining moments from Konate this season, although through no fault of his own. In the final pre-season friendly at home to Strasbourg back in July, he suffered a knee injury that contributed significantly to him making only four appearances before the World Cup. And a hamstring injury sustained in January – which saw him miss the 5-2 Champions League thumping at home to Real Madrid – meant the outing against Arsenal was only his 17th of the campaign for Liverpool.
Ibrahim Konate said: “It is a bit of a mixed bag, really. First and foremost, it’s hard to sum up the season when there is still a little bit of it left. But I’ve lived through some extraordinary things. The World Cup final was fantastic, it was a sad result in the end and we were all down after it, but it was an unbelievable, extraordinary experience. I got injured in the summer and it’s never a good when you are out for a long period. What can you do? How can you describe when you receive a blow on your knee? You try to avoid that sort of impact, but it happens and that’s something you just have to cope with. You have to deal with it when you’re out for a long period. But overall, I’m reasonably happy with my performances in the games I’ve played this season.”
Indeed, having last May been agonisingly close to adding the Premier League and Champions League to the FA Cup and League Cup medals he had already accrued, only an outstretched leg from Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez prevented Konate from assisting a dramatic late winner for France in a World Cup final they eventually lost on penalties in December. Not that the 23-year-old is dwelling on those setbacks.
Ibrahim Konate said: “As a young player, I have had some tough moments to deal with already. Losing two massive finals was hard – but it is stuff that makes you stronger. Hopefully at the end of my career, I’ll be able to look back and say ‘look I had some disappointments that year, but it gave me the strength and motivation to go on to win these big trophies later on.’ That is my aim. That is my objective. It drives me even more.”
With Virgil van Dijk now past his peak, Joel Matip in his 30s and Joe Gomez still striving for his best form, Konate represents the future for Liverpool at centre-back. And despite the disappointment of this season, he is in no doubt he made correct call when moving from RB Leipzig for £36million two summers ago.
Ibrahim Konate said: “My answer to the question about whether I made the right decision or not is to look at that first season. I came into a team that came to within a whisker of winning four trophies. We won two in the end and were only a point away from winning the league and so close to the Champions League. My fame has grown as a result of being a Liverpool player. It was fantastic to experience. Even after the season we’ve had so far, what I went through in my first year is enough for me to say ‘yes, I made the right decision’.”
