Ibrahima Konate sends timely reminder to Liverpool after nightmare moment

Ibrahima Konate sent quite the message to Liverpool during the thrilling win against Tottenham, producing one of his best performances of the season for the Reds

Ibrahima Konate was back to his best on Saturday(Image: Getty Images)

Ibrahima Konate showed the best side of himself in Liverpool's 2-1 Premier League victory over Tottenham.

In a season that the Frenchman has made countless individual errors, his performance in London on Saturday was a keen reminder of just how impressive he's been throughout his tenure on Merseyside. Dominant in the air with Randal Kolo Muani rarely getting a sniff at goal, it was his late and match-winning block of Richarlison's shot that saw the Reds clinch the much-needed three points to jump up to fifth in the table.

A misplaced pass from Curtis Jones saw the Brazilian be put through on goal, but with Jones, Konate, and Virgil van Dijk closing in on the striker, it was the Frenchman's block of his shot that left him with just one goal in the game.

That wasn't Konate's only game-changing moment of the match, as just minutes later, he endured a kick to the mid-section by Cristian Romero, who was shown a second yellow card for his shocking kick-out by referee John Brooks.

Romero's antics were slammed by ex-Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp, who said on Sky Sports: "What Romero did was what Romero does.

"If my four-year-old did that, I would say, 'What are you doing?'"

Cristian Romero clashes with Konate(Image: 2025 Getty Images)

Former Premier League referee Darren Cann said of the incident: "It's a petulant kick out at Konate - and that's without doubt a second yellow for Romero.

"John Brooks had no option other than to send him off for a second booking."

It was only earlier this month when Konate hit rock bottom after his role in Liverpool giving up a 2-0 lead in the eventual 3-3 draw with Leeds.

His reckless challenge on Wilfried Gnonto saw the home side awarded a penalty, which kick-started a comeback.

It was after the game when Slot lamented his constant mistakes during the season as he said: "Unfortunately for him, he does a lot of things well, but he has been a bit too much at the crime scene, that is something I’ve heard people saying before in England.

"So that means that he’s been involved in goals we’ve conceded, but if you are a center-back that happens in football.

"Today, it was a tackle that came from effort. He tried to do everything to block the cross. The ball went out, the player already went down a little bit, and then there was contact. That was obvious and clear, that there was contact.

"Now, the question is, should VAR have interfered for that? A lot of people will say that’s correct, but these same people should look at some games we’ve played this season where the VAR didn’t come in moments like this."