Ibrahima Konate brought his form to the international stage for Liverpool, producing a key moment as France beat Belgium 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League tonight.
The 25-year-old was an unused member of Les Bles’ squad for Euro 2024 but has since become a key player in Didier Deschamps’ side, justifying his coach’s faith with a superb performance against Diable Rouge.
In the game in Brussels, Lois Openda looked set to score for the hosts after being played in by Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku.
But Konate saw the striker through and came back to stop him with a perfectly timed tackle, putting enough pressure on the RB Leipzig sharpshooter to stop him without pushing him away or awarding a penalty.
Konate impressed once again for France.
The Liverpool centre-back’s intervention proved decisive as France won with an odd goal despite Aurelien Chouameni being sent off in the 76th minute.
The 25-year-old surprisingly failed to win his duel against Belgium tonight, but made up for it with six clearances, two blocks and an interception. He was also excellent in possession, completing 48 out of 55 passes (87% accuracy according to SofaScore).
Reds fans will laugh bitterly at not only Konate’s performance, but also William Saliba’s reckless penalty kick after colliding with the opener midway through the first half and Youri Tielemans missing the follow-up spot kick. .
It wasn’t the best moment of the Arsenal player’s career, to say the least, but Arne Slot would have been delighted to see his French centre-back perform in style for Les Bleus.
Let’s hope Konate can continue his impressive form for Liverpool as they enter the crucial weeks of the season!
You can see Konate’s block on Openda below, pulled from FS2’s match coverage and shared via: @VidsFCbrnKonate from X:
— . (@VidsFCbrnKonate) October 14, 2024
