The PROOF that Ibrahima Konate is a SEISMIC outlier for Liverpool

The start of Liverpool’s season couldn’t have gone much better, with the team notching five wins out of six matches in all competitions.

Contributions from the usual suspects of Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk were to be expected, but it is in the depth of the squad that Liverpool’s strength lies.

There has been no better example of this so far this season than Ibrahima Konaté, whose substitution at half-time in the opening game of the season for Jarrell Quansah ruffled some feathers. Since then, however, Konaté has been a standout performer.

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Where does Konaté stand out?

And one of his most critical contributions has come in the air. In fact, Konaté leads the league in aerial duels won, having succeeded in 90% of all aerial duels attempted (18 wins vs. 2 losses).

The second-best tally in the league is 85.7%, with three players (Lewis Cook of Bournemouth, Toti Gomes of Wolves and former-Red Neco Williams now of Nottingham Forest) having won six aerial duals to one loss. 

The next closest player to Konaté to have successful aerial duels in double figures is Konstantinos Mavropanos of West Ham, who has won 11. Konaté’s 18, then, is a seismic outlier that depicts just how exceptional the Frenchman has been in the air this season.

Putting such an exceptional level of performance next to the ever-towering Virgil van Dijk goes some way to show how Liverpool have only conceded two goals in six games in all competitions this season.

In addition, Konaté got the equaliser against Milan in midweek and bagged the assist for Luis Diaz’s opener against Bournemouth at the weekend. Not only is the defender progressive in his primary duties, but he is beginning to grow as a key part of Liverpool’s all-round play.

This growth will be a welcome sight for new head coach Arne Slot who has started Konaté in every game following his appearance at half-time on the opening day.