Ibrahima Konate reveals what he and Virgil van Dijk want to achieve at Liverpool

Ibrahima Konate claims he and Virgil van Dijk want to be “the best defensive partnership in the world”. Konate and van Dijk have helped Liverpool achieve the meanest defence in the Premier League and they have conceded just 21 goals. The France centre-half has fought off competition at Anfield to becomes Van Dijk’s trusted partner under head coach Arne Slot and he says he has learned so much from the Dutch star.

Konate, 25, watched van Dijk when he was at RB Leipzig, but he didn’t realise how good he was until he began working with him at Liverpool in 2021. He says the Reds skipper is able to get inside the heads of opposition attackers and make them believe they cannot beat him. “What a defender!” he said. “I think if we talk about him and what he’s done, it’s unbelievable. I have a very good relationship with Virgil on the pitch and outside of the pitch. When I came here as a 21-year-old, he gave me a lot of advice and helped me with my adaptation here.

“When I was in Leipzig I watched some games of Liverpool and I didn’t realise how good he was. Then when I came here, sometimes I’d think, ‘no, how’s this possible?’. “Now I think because he’s too good, some strikers see Virgil and are just thinking, ‘I’ve no chance against him’. On the pitch I need him and I think it’s the same way for him, hopefully! I know how good he can be for me and we just work together and try to be the best partnership in the world.”.

Liverpool can maintain their perfect season at Anfield on Thursday if they can overturn Tottenham’s 1-0 lead from the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg and return to the final at Wembley on March 16. The Reds are chasing glory on four fronts and Konate says they must work “even harder” to maintain their quest for silverware. “We’ve had a great start and everything is fine for us at the moment, even in the Champions League,” he said. “But I think the most important thing is that we start again and we work even harder because we’re into the second part of the season now.

“We have to work a lot because everyone wants to beat us, so we just have to keep going all the way to the end. “It’ll be very difficult and we have to work so, so hard just to keep going and remain calm.”. Konate has his eyes on lifting a first Premier League title because it is the only domestic trophy he has not yet won and Liverpool are six points clear of Arsenal, with a game in hand. “Of course, this title is the only one that’s been missing between my hands in England and I really hope this season we will achieve that,” he said. “We know all our fans are behind us and we have to do everything we can to achieve this.”.

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