Ibrahima Konate praised for unexpected comments following Liverpool’s defeat against Man United

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Former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson was impressed by Ibrahima Konate’s post-match interview after the Reds were beaten by Manchester United on Sunday.Konate once again played the full 90 minutes at Old Trafford, and despite some early struggles, was arguably one of Liverpool‘s better performers.As the wait rumbles on for a new contract announcement, the Frenchman faced the LFCTV cameras at full-time, with Thompson both surprised and impressed at hearing what Konate had to say. And then going on to play abysmally… Photo credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC Thompson pleased to see Konate fronting upThere was a reason Virgil van Dijk was surprised to see Konate speak in the mixed zone after Liverpool’s win over Everton two weeks ago.The 26-year-old does not face the press post-match very often, but he did so again on Sunday in another hint that he could be about to pen a new deal.“For sure, it’s a big disappointment because I think we concede two goals that we must not concede when we start the game,” he said.

“[In] the second half we came back with a great mentality to [go] 2-2.“And in other moments we can hurt them but we concede a goal and that’s why it’s very sad for us, because we didn’t start the game very well but the second half we started very well.”Photo by Mark Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesREAD MORE: ‘Goodness me’… Alan Shearer assigns the blame for all three Manchester United goals against Liverpool“I think it was a big opportunity to take three points and we didn’t get anything.”The centre-back also spoke of a shift in mentality from Liverpool at half-time and looked ahead to what he predicted will be three tough fixtures to end the season.Reacting to his words on The Official Liverpool FC Podcast, Thompson admitted that it was good to hear some honesty from Konate about the pain of losing against United.“Good interview,” said the Scouser. He’s honest, the goals we conceded we didn’t defend them properly, the first two.” Did anyone else deserve a 3/10 alongside Mac Allister?

Second-half display saved some from MUCH worse ratings Photo Credit: Getty Images/Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA “I think that was a really good interview, I wasn’t expecting, Ibou’s not one who usually comes out, but he was on the money with his emotion, with what we still need. Yes, we should have won, but we could have been better in a lot of areas of the game.”What’s going on with Konate’s contract?It is now two weeks since Konate confirmed that he is close to signing a new deal with Liverpool, but there is still yet to be any movement on that front.Nevertheless, his decision to face the press once again on Sunday is likely a good sign that things are still on track.If Liverpool fans cast their minds back to 12 months ago, one criticism of Trent Alexander-Arnold was that he was seemingly desperate to avoid speaking publicly.