True to their reputation, Galatasaray supporters had promised hell to the Liverpool players during this round of 16 first leg of the Champions League. And after knocking down Juventus in the play-offs (5-2), the Istanbul club once again claimed the scalp of a European great in its stadium (1-0).
In this context, Ibrahima Konaté was one of the players most in difficulty. The French defender was not directly involved in the goal conceded by his team, signed by Mario Lemina on a delivery from a corner by Victor Osimhen (7th). But he multiplied the approximate interventions, before coming close to correction in the second half.
On a harmless ball, Konaté completely missed his back pass towards his goalkeeper, which allowed Osimhen to score a second goal (62nd). Luckily, the former Sochaux player was saved by an offside from another Turkish player, reported by the VAR.
Konaté needs to breathe
In the end, Konaté is not the only Liverpool player to have suffered during this meeting, since we can still talk about the ghostly Mohamed Salah, who left after the hour of play. But this is becoming recurring for the French international, who is going through a difficult season.
Weighed down by the lack of density of his team in this position, with the departure of Quansah and the serious injury of rookie Leoni, Konaté is forced to play a series of matches (like Van Dijk), when it is clear that he would need to take a breather. The Paris native plays all the time, except in the cup. His only missed meetings date back to the end of January, when his father died, another ordeal. At this rate, we wonder in what state he will be able to approach the World Cup at the end of the year.
