Ibrahima Konate praised despite heavy Liverpool defeat at Brighton

By Jordan Harris

Steve Nicol has told ESPN that Ibrahima Konate was the only Liverpool player who emerged from their heavy defeat to Brighton with any credit, with everyone else not at the races for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

The Reds lost 3-0 at the Amex Stadium. It was another remarkable result for Klopp’s men, who have not won any of their three games in all competitions in 2023.

Of course, any defence which concedes three goals is not going to be happy. But Nicol feels that one member of the backline can hold his head up high.

Konate praised after Liverpool defeat

Konate did well with a better display than most of his teammates. As shown by Whoscored, the Frenchman won five tackles – more than any other player on the pitch. Meanwhile, he also led the way with six clearances.

Nicol actually gave his display an 8/10 rating in another video for ESPN. Initially, he suggested that he was the standout performer on a really dark day for Liverpool on the south coast.

“You name it, it went wrong. I guess the easiest thing for me to say would be that Konate, of the 11 players on the field, was the only one that actually showed what he is. Everybody else was so far off the pace and just not at the races,” he told ESPN.

“He was the only player on the team that didn’t embarrass himself. Without him, it would have been six or seven,” he added in his player ratings video.

Reds’ rut becoming a problem Jurgen Klopp is struggling to solve

It is almost three months since Liverpool kept a clean sheet in the Premier League. And they have conceded eight goals in the three matches since the turn of the year. It could have easily been several more along the way as well. The offside flag came to Liverpool’s rescue against Brentford and Wolves.

The concern will be that Liverpool rarely seem to deviate from their transfer plans when the windows are open. With that, if they are not planning to make any further signings this month, it seems unlikely that they are going to change course.

There is enough quality to drag them out of their rut right now. But something looks to be seriously wrong for the Reds.