'I saw two Liverpool monsters leave Arne Slot delighted and give Florian Wirtz perfect platform'

Liverpool fought and battled to beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, with Florian Wirtz unplayable in the first half and Arne Slot's center-backs providing the perfect platform

Liverpool center-back Ibrahima Konate hugs Alisson Becker after the win over Sunderland.(Image: Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Florian Wirtz, in the first half, especially against Sunderland, was a delightful watch. But for all his stardust, Liverpool also needed some grit to get over the line for a vital three points.

As well as Wirtz played, it was another man who ended up being just as important to the victory at the Stadium of Light: Ibrahima Konate.

Konate completed 88 percent of his passes — his lack of on-ball value is sometimes a big drawback within his game — and while Brian Brobbey targeted him on that side of the field, he didn’t lose a duel in the air or on the ground.

Sunderland is the exact type of team that Liverpool has struggled with this season: direct, and loving long throws and sending the ball high in the air.

However, the solid base that Liverpool set up — Virgil van Dijk and the full-backs deserve a mention as well — was enough to seal the victory. It was Van Dijk who scored the vital goal to break the deadlock, but it was his work defensively that provided the platform.

Konate was dire earlier in the season — struggling regularly and this calendar year having to deal with the death of his father — but his form of late has been exceptional.

The Frenchman, who is set to be a free agent at the end of the season as things stand, has seen a real upturn in form in recent games.

Van Dijk scored the only goal of the game at the Stadium of Light

"Ibou played a great game against Brobbey, who is always difficult to play against," Arne Slot said in his post-match press conference.

"I'm impressed but not surprised. He’s an example, almost, of our season; he’s been so unlucky. He’s played games where he’s been so good for 89 minutes and then one moment ruins his game.

"It’s not always about him but a few times that has happened and then everyone is focused on his mistake. But footballers make mistakes and not always the ball goes in.

"It was good to hardly concede a chance and Ibou was a big part of that, together with Virgil. But I liked the mentality of the whole team."

Returning triumphantly against Newcastle — coming back early to help out when Liverpool was short of options — before then excelling against Manchester City, and now here, Konate deserves a huge amount of credit.

Alisson Becker, though he had some catching to do early on, didn’t have to stretch himself to make a save. That was because those in front dived into the danger and battled impressively.

Andy Robertson was solid, and Wataru Endo — though he can’t offer much in possession and succumbed to the Liverpool right-back curse — likewise. Van Dijk and Konate, though, were the ones to really take charge.

If Liverpool is to secure a Champions League spot this season, Slot said his team would need to be near perfect. His center-backs weren’t far off it here.