Ibrahima Konate just beat Virgil van Dijk in seriously IMPRESSIVE stat | OneFootball

Since being introduced into Liverpool's Premier League opener against Ipswich Town at half-time, Slot has opted to play Ibrahima Konate in every game since, and you can't really blame him.

Konate or Jarell Quansah? It's been a question that has invited a lot of intriguing debate over the last year with the only conclusion being that there's no wrong answer.

Though so far this season, Konate has risen above his fellow centre-half in the pecking order to partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of Liverpool's defence.

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To be amongst these discussions is a testament to how impressive Quansah has been since his Liverpool debut away at Newcastle United a year ago.

However, it was him who was hooked to make way for Konate against Ipswich in a bold decision by Slot, in which the Dutchman reasoned it to be because of his side struggled to win duels against the Premier League newcomers.

A ruthless but clinical substitution by Slot who saw Konate's presence result in the Reds producing a dominant second-half display at Portman Road, coming out 2-0 winners.

Dominant is a suitable word to describe Konate this season too, who has since played every minute of Liverpool's last four outings.

Ibrahima Konate Liverpool

Konate leading Van Dijk in impressive stat

Slot's vision of introducing Konate against Ipswich to win more duels came to fruition, but that can be extended across all Premier League matches.

After the first four matchdays, Van Dijk currently has the second-best aerial duel win rate (76%) in the league, out of anyone who has competed in at least fifteen.

Who trumps him? Konate does. The Frenchman is leading by some distance winning an impressive 87.5% of his aerial duels, according to WhoScored.com.

Quansah has openly spoken about the substitution against Ipswich and has admitted he is using it as motivation to prove his value for the remainder of the campaign - though there is no doubting his ability - but if Konate continues to put in colossal performances, the Englishman may struggle to reclaim a spot in Slot's first choice backline.

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