Liverpool face Chelsea this weekend, and they have the unenviable task of trying to keep Romelu Lukaku at bay.
Lukaku is an absolute nightmare to defend against, he’s one of the best finishers in the world, while his unique combination of size and pace make him impossible to keep tabs on.
Very few defenders in world football are able to handle Lukaku, but luckily, Liverpool may have a centre-back who can keep him quiet, and surprisingly, we’re not talking about Virgil van Dijk.
Indeed, the player we think could handle Lukaku this weekend is Ibrahima Konate.
Lukaku’s main strength is his physical stature. We saw time and time again this weekend how he would just bully defenders and hold them off with ease. If you’re going to stop Lukaku, you need to be able to outstrength him.
Konate is one man who should have no problems in doing that with Jamie Carragher previously talking about his physical presence in the backline.
“Konate looks an absolute beast. That has the potential to be the best centre-back partnership in the league. Konate I watched him at Leipzig, he’s got that presence, he’s certainly got the pace. He looks spectacular yeah,” Carragher said.
A 6 ft 4 centre-back with pace and strength should be able to keep tabs on Lukaku, and as long as Konate stays tight on the Belgian, he should be able to keep him quiet.
Yes, Lukaku has a lot more about him than just pace and strength, but if you manage to stifle those areas of his game, you’ve won half of the battle.
His movement in the area will undoubtedly be an issue, and that’s where Konate would be tested, but with Virgil van Dijk at the back, it will be hard for any crosses to even reach Lukaku.
No team will have an easy time against Chelsea’s star man this season, but you’d have to fancy Konate and van Dijk to be able to do a job on him.
Klopp should think about handing his summer signing his first Premier League start this weekend.
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