Arne Slot explains what makes Ibrahima Konate 'stand out' in Liverpool squad

Arne Slot says he has been hugely impressed with Ibrahima Konate's willingness to absorb what he wants from his Liverpool defenders. And the head coach has explained how his in-form centre-backs complement each other.

Liverpool's 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night means they now lead both the Premier League and Champions League tables heading into the weekend's visit from Aston Villa.

Much of the progress this term has been built on a miserly backline who have only conceded seven times in 14 games in both competitions.

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Having forced his way back into the team after ending last term on the bench, Konate has been in imperious form alongside captain Virgil van Dijk and Slot says he has been delighted with how much the France international wants to learn and develop under his guidance.

"That thing is difficult for me to say because I don’t know how [Konate's form] was [last season]" Slot said Konate's improvement. "The only thing I know is that from the moment I first started working with Ibou, his first game wasn’t the best against Manchester United in pre-season on the USA tour.

"But I was impressed by how much he wants to learn. So every time we are on the pitch, or having individual clips or team meetings he is so focused on trying to understand what we want from him.

"All the guys are quite positive in that but, in my opinion, he stands out in trying to learn the things that we are trying to hand over to it. That is one of the reasons why his performances are very stable and the other thing is he is playing next to a player who we would all love to play alongside.

"But for Virgil it is the same with Ibou, I think the two of them are complementary. They bring out the best in each other so that is the reason why the two of them do so well.

"The best partnership in the league right now? That is difficult to judge because I only saw our games, all of them, and sometimes I see a few games of the opponent if we face them.

"I don’t look at it in as much detail as I look at our own defenders. The only thing I see we have at this moment is four very good centre-backs where two of them are playing most of the games.

"But the moment we need Joe Gomez he has done outstanding and for me Jarell Quansah has been unlucky in moments but if you take away these moments he is doing really well as well."