Liverpool have benefited from some legendary centre-back partnerships down the years, each of which provided the foundation upon which success and glory was earned. But the club has also seen what can occur when that solidity is not there, not least two seasons ago when Jurgen Klopp used a scarcely believable 20 different pairings in central defence.
Although injuries have again afflicted the Reds' squad in 2022/23, they haven’t been as concentrated at the back as they were in that testing campaign. Only four combinations of centre-backs have been fielded thus far – though that number will likely grow in the Carabao Cup next week – with Virgil van Dijk having been ever-present.
Joe Gomez has been the Dutchman’s most common partner, with 883 minutes played together, ahead of Joel Matip on 574 minutes. Leaving aside Nat Phillips’ one appearance, in the draw with Crystal Palace, the other man at the heart of the defence has been Ibrahima Konate. ‘Ibou’ completed 90 minutes for the first time this season in Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Napoli in midweek.
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Having missed the start of the campaign through injury, the French international appeared in successive games at the Emirates Stadium and Ibrox before suffering another setback. Now that he is fit again, Klopp will have his fingers crossed that he remains healthy. Konate’s partnership with van Dijk has the potential to be added alongside the likes of Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson in club folklore.
Simply put, Liverpool’s record with their numbers four and five united at the back is almost flawless. There have been 19 matches in which Konate and van Dijk have appeared for at least 79 minutes together, and the Reds have won 14 of them. Four of the other five were drawn, including the FA Cup final which was won on penalties in any case.
Sadly, their one defeat then came in the Champions League final, though many people had Konate down as Liverpool’s best player that night and they did only concede a single goal. Even with this disappointing result, the combination of the former RB Leipzig man and Van Dijk has carried the Reds to an average of 2.42 points per game, which is 92 across a 38-match campaign. With 12 of the 19 fixtures having been either in Europe or against other teams from the Premier League’s ‘big six’, their sample has been tougher than average too.
They’ve certainly not been without fault. Liverpool dropped points thanks to losing two goal leads against both Brighton and Chelsea on their watch last season, while the disastrous first half of the Champions League semi-final second leg against Villarreal also occurred with Konate and Van Dijk on the pitch. But if you’re looking for a pairing who never concedes a goal or two from time-to-time, you’ll undertake a lot of fruitless searching.
Since the start of last season, and with penalties excluded, the centre-back partnership who faced Napoli this week have conceded a goal every 128 minutes played. That doesn’t put them streets ahead of Matip and Van Dijk (123) or Gomez and the latter (112), but their combination does feel like the perfect blend of youth and pace on one side, with calm assuredness on the other.
And without wishing to undermine Caoimhin Kelleher, a fine young goalkeeper, when Konate and Van Dijk have been stationed in front of Alisson Becker, their non-penalty goals conceded rate improves to one every 145 minutes. Better than a goal every game-and-a-half, in other words, and with 12 of the 17 fixtures in the Champions League or against top English clubs.
To most eyes, Virgil has not been close to his best this season. The return of Konate can perhaps bring him back towards that level. If both can stay fit, they could make a very firm partnership for the next few years. Konate and Van Dijk would truly belong up among the club's top defensive duos then.
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