Owen Hargreaves amazed by ‘smart’ Liverpool duo who simply have ‘no flaws’

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Owen Hargreaves has heaped praise on Liverpool duo Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk after their 4-0 win over Bournemouth on Sunday.

Liverpool opened up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table by, not just securing a deserved three points, but also a valuable clean sheet.

Everyone knows about the firepower Jurgen Klopp can pick from, even without Mohamed Salah, but it’s the defence that will win the Premier League title.

When it comes to Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, Owen Hargreaves thinks that the two centre-backs have ‘no flaws’, as he told Premier League Productions (22/01/24 at 5:15 pm). 

You could argue that, when everyone is fit and firing at their best, then the Liverpool duo are perhaps the best defensive partnership in the country.

To be fair, with their Treble in their cabinet, a certain Manchester City duo named Ruben Dias and John Stones would have something to say about that.

Either way, it still can’t hide the magic and genius of Liverpool’s defensive duo, who were given their flowers by former Bayern Munich midfielder, Owen Hargreaves.

Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk

“Konate and Van Dijk, they aren’t worried,” said Hargreaves. “They know ‘you can’t run away from me’. That’s a powerful thing.

“We have played with players that are really athletic. You know that you aren’t going to beat him in a race.

“These two guys, honestly, physically, they are special. Smart. They clear the ball when they need to. They almost have no flaws. That’s what I love about them.

“I think Konate and Van Dijk. They defend when they need to. They aren’t trying to be number 10s and hit all these crazy passes. They are there when you need them.”

Liverpool without Mohamed Salah

With news that Salah could now be out for a month, Liverpool’s defence becomes even more important during these coming weeks.

There might be times when they have to grind out results because they are lacking Salah’s special qualities and that’s when Konate and Van Dijk enter the picture.

Yes, someone like Salah is very important and they need him back as soon as possible.

But you could argue that if Konate and Van Dijk remain injury-free until the end of the campaign, then Liverpool, after missing out on Champions League football last term, could win an unlikely Premier League title in May.