Arms raised in anguish, Ibrahima Konate trudged away from the centre circle of the Stade de France as the blaring sound of referee Clement Turpin's whistle signalled the end of Liverpool's mammoth 2021/22 season.
Having just lost the European Cup final to a sole Vinicius Junior strike, Jurgen Klopp's side's taxing 63-game season had been concluded in the most ruthless of circumstances in the French capital as the club's quest for unparalleled glory fell short at its final hurdles.
For Konate, May 28, 2022, should have been the triumphant moment of his novice career. After growing up in the suburbs of Paris, almost directly in the shadows of the Stade de France, his first appearance at the national stadium was possibly the finest of his brief Liverpool career to date, despite the defeat.
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So much so that the 23-year-old's remarkable handling of Real Madrid pair Karim Benzema and Junior on that heartbreaking evening earned him a maiden call-up to Didier Deschamps' France squad and launched him firmly into the reckoning for a place in Les Bleus 26-man squad for the Qatar World Cup later this year.
After a breakthrough debut campaign on Merseyside, following his £36m switch from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2021, Konate seemed destined to begin the 2022/23 season as Virgil van Dijk's first-choice defensive partner after his commanding performances during the run-in of the previous campaign.
Even with the circumstances that tarnished the end of the club's fifth-longest season since 1892, it was a telling revelation of the Frenchman's temperament that his season peaked as Liverpool's games increased in importance. And a three-goal return in April, in matches home and away against Benfica and during a thriller against Manchester City at Wembley, resulted in him leapfrogging the ever-excellent Joel Matip.
Yet it hadn't been completely plain sailing for the defender after arriving at Anfield, as he was forced to survive the same fortune as many a Liverpool signing during Klopp's seven-year reign. In fact, Konate was made to bide his time as he waited for his maiden berth in the Liverpool starting XI. But by the end of the campaign, he had propelled himself to the top of the German’s pecking order as he started the FA Cup triumph against Chelsea as well as the aforementioned defeat to Madrid.
But since sustaining a knee injury in the Reds' pre-season finale against RC Strasbourg at the end of July, he has since been unable to amass any minutes for club or country this campaign. However, it has been reported in French media that the defender will be in line to make a return from his lay-off after the international break as Liverpool gear up for Premier League and Champions League fixtures, starting with Brighton this weekend.
While Liverpool's unfamiliar attacking trio has been a source of plenty of frustration, with neither Darwin Nunez nor Mohamed Salah able to hit the early-season heights many would have expected, it's been the leakiness of the defence, Van Dijk included, that has caused just as much apprehension during the opening weeks of the new season.
Having acquired a stellar record in the Premier League last term, conceding a league-best of just 26 goals, Liverpool have evidently lost their defensive authority in recent weeks as the protection ahead of Alisson has undoubtedly been nowhere close to the levels that have become expected of this side in recent trophy-winning seasons. Highlighted by the 11 goals the Reds have shipped in the eight games since July’s Community Shield triumph over Manchester City.
For context, after the exact number of games this time last season, Liverpool's opponents had found the back of the net just five times - with three of those strikes being in the frenzied basketball-like counter with Brentford last September. In a game where Alisson was uncharacteristically beaten three times, despite Thomas Frank’s side mustering an xG score of just 1.9.
While the former RB Leipzig man only started eleven Premier League games during his maiden season on Merseyside, his aggressive and athletic manner of defending undoubtedly caught his manager’s eye following the Reds’ exceptional post-Christmas form. Where Liverpool lost just twice in 35 outings across four competitions.
Handed just his second league start away at Old Trafford during the club’s historic 5-0 drubbing of their old foes in October, Konate blossomed alongside Van Dijk as he won 100% of his clearances and tackles, and supplied a flawless base for Trent Alexander-Arnold to venture forward and wreak havoc in one of the Premier League’s most one-sided thrashings.
Konate's return could come as soon as this weekend as the Seagulls' new manager Roberto De Zerbi's brings his team to Anfield in what will be his first Premier League game. The Frenchman is reportedly progressing pleasingly with his recovery at the AXA Training Centre in recent weeks.
And while his impending return will be music to the ears of all Liverpool supporters alike, it could hand Alexander-Arnold the security to rediscover his most promising form just days after his underwhelming start to the season culminated in Gareth Southgate omitting him from the England squad on Monday night.
While the Reds' West-Derby star will certainly be the first to admit he’s been performing at levels well below his awe-inspiring best so far this term, the trend of Premier League rivals continually looking to attack down the left-hand side could cease to exist upon the return of the Konate, who boasts an impressive record alongside his defensive team-mate.
Having lined up alongside one another on 19 occasions last season, Alexander-Arnold and Konate conceded just 16 goals in 1,623 minutes, equating to a goal every 101 minutes. For comparison, the side's current average has them down at conceding a goal at an alarming rate of every 65 minutes so far this campaign. And of those 19 outings, Liverpool only sank to defeat once. Of course, that night in Paris four months ago, which astonishingly remains the only defeat on Konate's impeccable 26-game starting record for the club.
With Klopp in desperate demand for his side to snap out of their momentarily rut once club football restarts, in order to cool hyperbole talk of an identity crisis at Anfield, the 23-year-old Frenchman could be an influential figure for Liverpool between now and November.
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