80% of duels won, four clearances: ‘Incredible’ Liverpool defender shows he must start v Man City – opinion

The temptation will be to focus on the efforts of Liverpool’s forward line when analysing a phenomenal second-half showing in Glasgow.

However, fans would be remiss to overlook the contributions of Ibrahima Konate throughout the encounter as Jurgen Klopp’s men ran out as convincing 7-1 winners.

The French international registered an 80% success rate when it came to his duels (two out of three ground, six out of seven aerial) and four clearances in what was a dominant defensive performance, according to stats registered by Sofascore.

READ MORE: BBC pundit says ‘brilliant’ Liverpool ace did something ‘absolute world-class’ in second-half v Rangers

With Joel Matip set to be sidelined beyond a big encounter with Manchester City on Sunday, our options are admittedly limited as is with only Joe Gomez or Nathaniel Phillips available to slot in.

Regardless, we’d be inclined to argue that our £36m signing – whom Jose Enrique previously labelled ‘incredible’ – has more than earned a starting spot come the weekend.

He’ll have to prepare for a far bigger challenge in Erling Haaland – with all due respect to Rangers – though we’re more confident that the tie won’t necessarily turn out to be a rout in the visitors’ favour after the show of real spirit and fight in Scotland.

Exclusive: Liverpool keeping a close eye on four Galatasaray talents as European scouts flock to Istanbul