Liverpool star gives Arne Slot hope after BOMBSHELL result | OneFootball

For a lot of Liverpool fans right now, it's difficult to make sense of how the team is performing.

Prior to the season starting, you felt as though a lot of the weakness in the squad had been addressed through the summer recruitment. Big name players had been signed and a remarkable amount of money had been spent on the rebuild. Our recent struggles were unimaginable.

In the early few weeks, you could understand there being a few teething issues. After all, there had been a lot of squad turnover. Cohesiveness was going to take a little bit of time, and Alexander Isak, for example, needed to spend time working on his fitness after a summer away from training.

But to now have seen four losses in a row, with the latest defeat coming against rivals Manchester United - their first win at Anfield since 2016.- is a clear sign that something's not right. In spite of all the credit he has in the bank, Arne Slot is going to be feeling the pressure. It's his team now.

The 90 minutes were a hard watch, although buried under the rubble, there was at least one positive.

Konate delivers a masterclass

To claim the Frenchman was faultless would be wrong, but Ibrahima Konate really managed to lay down a marker this season in terms of where his usual performance standards need to be. By and large, he's struggled to find his level in this campaign, although we all know he's capable of more.

Against United on Sunday, he had eight clearances, four recoveries, 2/2 ground duels, 6/9 aerial duels, a big chance created as well as a key pass made, alongside three accurate long-balls. It was remarkable to see him brush off his poor form and find the fluency we're used to seeing from him.

Of course, the performance came in a losing effort and there is still plenty for him to work on - he went 0/2 in the tackles he was engaged in and he lost possession 11 times, which left us quite open.

Nonetheless, given one of the headlines from Liverpool's defensive problems was the Frenchman's form, it's really pleasing to know that we're improving in stages. It's not quite as bleak as you think.

And it's the context behind Konate's performance which makes it all the more impressive. This time last week, we weren't convinced he'd even make it to Anfield this week, given he joined up with the French national team with a suspected thigh injury from the defeat to Chelsea.

He sat out of his country's meeting with Azerbaijan before Didier Deschamps sent him back home to Merseyside rather than having him travel with the squad to Iceland. No update came on his overall fitness until Slot's press conference on Friday, when he was hardly given a resounding bill of health.

Two sessions without pain before the weekend meant he was fit enough to feature in the starting XI, but knowing he saw out the entire 90 minutes, it's remarkable that he performed as well as he did.

Over the next few weeks, we might see Joe Gomez slightly more involved if Konate's fitness is less as a result of such a heated battle with United. Overplaying him and increasing the likelihood of him twinging his thigh again would be a disaster, although cautious optimism feels reasonable.

In every other department, Slot will be concerned - and rightly so. None of the performances this season have really felt convincing. Until they do, the pressure and speculation will only get worse.