Ibrahima Konate was a notable absence for Liverpool last night.
Liverpool limped into the quarter-final of the Champions League with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Inter Milan.
The Italian outfit won 1-0 on the night at Anfield on Tuesday but the damage was already done from the first leg in February.
Konate has been a revelation since joining the Reds in a £36 million deal last summer.
However, he was nowhere to be seen last night and James Pearce, who covers Liverpool for The Athletic, has explained that his sudden absence is a result of a knock on Monday.
He told The Athletic: “Ibrahima Konate didn’t train yesterday due to a knock so Joel Matip in place of him makes sense.”
Liverpool will have to be a lot better in the next round of the Champions League.
They certainly got the job done against Inter, but Alexis Sanchez was sent off minutes after Lautaro Martinez halved the deficit at Anfield.
It could and would’ve been a lot more difficult for Liverpool to complete the mission if not for that dubious red card.
However, it’s worth noting that Konate’s absence was major.
The French powerhouse started alongside Virgil van Dijk in the first leg at San Siro as Jurgen Klopp’s side looked miles better than their Italian counterparts.
And although Joel Matip is a brilliant replacement, the fact that Konate started the first leg was telling.
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