Ibrahima Konate has explained how Arne Slot has left him less “exposed” in defence, with a big change in the use of Trent Alexander-Arnold in particular.
Konate’s longevity has been a clear project for Slot and his staff since taking over at Liverpool, which by and large has paid off.
A careful management of the Frenchman’s training load and game time has resulted in a campaign which, around its halfway point, has already seen him make 21 appearances.
In his previous three seasons Konate played 29, 24 and 37 times respectively, with the hope that his first under Slot can see him break last term’s record.
A key factor behind this is that less is being asked of him on the pitch, where before – particularly when Alexander-Arnold was used as an inverted right-back – he was effectively covering two positions in defence.
“[Trent] helps a lot when we attack which leaves me with a big space to defend,” Konate has told Sky Sports.
“But how the manager has explained to us to defend all together has helped me and the team a lot.
“If you can see and compare to the last season or the season before as well, we were more exposed. But now when we lose the ball, everyone tries to help the team and I think we are more together.
“Nobody was expecting the manager to do what he has done since the start of the season.
“He has a great idea of playing, he knows what to do and it’s not about adaptation to the other team. I think this makes a lot of difference for us compared to under Jurgen.”
While it is near-impossible to denigrate the work of Jurgen Klopp over his nine years at Liverpool, the German continually grappled with how to rely upon Alexander-Arnold as his creative outlet while not compromising his defence.
The issue has not been entirely solved this season, with Man United targeting the right-back during this month’s 2-2 draw, but there is certainly less space to do so now.
Konate remains key to that, with the No. 5 understanding the trade-off when it comes to Alexander-Arnold’s unique ability, and it is certainly interesting to note there being a “lot of difference” now than playing for Klopp.
Per FBref, Konate is averaging significantly fewer tackles and interceptions this season (1.72) than in any previous campaign for Liverpool – his lowest for a season beforehand being 3.21 per 90 – despite the Reds averaging less ball possession.
That shows he is fighting fewer fires than before, but with his tackle success rate still in a similar region (61.1%) he clearly remains as effective when called upon.
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