'What a presence' - national media blown away by Liverpool star who was 'flawless' last night

Ibrahima Konate has taken his outstanding Liverpool form onto the international stage.

The defender has been one of the Reds' top performers this season as Arne Slot's side top the Premier League and Champions League standings. Konate has been Virgil van Dijk's regular centre-back partner, with Liverpool shipping just six league goals in 11 matches and have yet to concede in Europe.

While Mo Salah has taken the majority of headlines, Konate's contributions have scarcely gone unnoticed by Kopites. And during the international break, the former RB Leipzig man has displayed all of his qualities for France.

Konate didn't feature for a single minute of Les Bleus' Euro 2024 campaign. Yet less than six months after the tournament, he has become a leader in Didier Deschamps' side. The absence of Kylian Mbappe has resulted in Konate captaining France. He donned the armband in a 0-0 draw against Israel last week before continuing with those duties as Les Bleus earned a 3-1 win over Italy in the Nations League on Sunday night. The triumph at the San Siro ensured France topped Group A1 to move into the semi-finals of the competition.

And it's fair to say that the performance of Konate earned the praise of the French media who can be notoriously tough to please. Reputable outlet Foot Mercato delivered Konate a 7/10 player rating as he was 'flawless' throughout'. The comment said: "Captain of the evening, the Liverpool defender delivered a flawless performance. Intractable and impactful in the duel, always guided by this little head start in his anticipations, he even gave us a few laser passes to break the Italian lines. Inevitably, this performance throws some doubt on the hierarchy at the central defender position, and in particular in his long-distance duel with Upamecano, on the bench this evening."

Eurosport handed Konate the same match rating and said: "What a presence again… His size alone is an invitation to look elsewhere. In 90 minutes, he put Retegui and then Kean in his pocket. In duels, he is a monster and, at the start of the season, at Liverpool as with France, he is returning to his best level. Good luck to his next direct opponents. In short… What a guy." Le Figaro (7/10) added: "Evening captain, he tried to spread calm and serenity. With success. A tough match."

Konate will now get a short break before returning to Liverpool training later this week. The Reds make the trip to Southampton on Sunday.