4 things noticed from Konate's Liverpool debut in 3-0 Crystal Palace win

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp handed £36m summer signing Ibrahima Konate his Reds debut in Saturday's 3-0 triumph over Crystal Palace.

The 22-year-old made a steady start to life at Anfield as Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League table.

Sadio Mane broke the deadlock for the hosts by stabbing home on the stroke of half time before Mohamed Salah volleyed home at the far post. Naby Keita wrapped up the points in the dying minutes of the game.

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Konate partnered Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Reds defence as they managed to shut out a determined Palace side.

Here, Mirror Football takes a look at four things that we noticed during the defender's Liverpool debut.

Shaky start

Liverpool debutant Ibrahima Konate gets to grips with Crystal Palace star Wilfred Zaha

All eyes at Anfield were on Konate and he faced a baptism of fire with Crystal Palace pressing Liverpool relentlessly early in the first half.

The ex-RB Leipzig man made a nervy start after undercooking his first couple of passes in a Reds shirt before a loose clearance threatened to open the door for Palace.

But the £36m man grew in confidence as the game went on.

He showed good pace and strength to thwart Christian Benteke after the Palace striker was put through midway through the opening period to keep Liverpool level.

His passing certainly picked up as the game went on, with the central defender showing his technical ability with a pair of raking cross-field passes which were right on the money.

HAVE YOUR SAY: What did you make of Ibrahima Konate's debut? Comment below.

Improvement on AC Milan thriller

Joe Gomez had a tough time against AC Milan in midweek

Van Dijk was rested for the midweek thriller with AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night - and Liverpool sorely missed their leader at the back.

Joe Gomez was badly caught out for Milan's opening goal as the Reds endured a nightmare two-minute spell at the back in their pulsating 3-2 win.

This was a much improved defensive display from Klopp's men - even without their first-choice wing-backs in Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Konate played his part in that as the Reds made it four clean sheets from five games so far this term.

Relationship with van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk returned to partner Konate in defence

Van Dijk is the main man at the back for the Reds and recently penned a bumper new deal.

Aged just 22, Konate has clearly been earmarked as the Dutchman's long-term partner at the heart of the Liverpool defence, so it's important for the pair to mesh well.

Joel Matip had partnered van Dijk in all four of the Reds league games so far but it seems inevitable Konate will nab that spot once he's up to speed with the Premier League.

The pair seemed to mesh well and handled the threat of Wilfred Zaha to keep Palace at bay for the majority of the afternoon.

It's still very early days, but the pair certainly didn't look out of place together - and there should be plenty more to come as their relationship evolves.

Physical challenge

Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate reacts during the Crystal Palace win ( Image:

REUTERS)

The Premier League is one of the most physically demanding leagues in the world - and it could take time for Konate to adapt.

His battle with Palace's big Belgian striker Benteke was certainly an intriguing one during the Reds win.

Konate did show a good turn of pace to recover after Benteke had slipped behind the Liverpool rearguard.

But he wasn't entirely convincing in his battle against the Belgian.

He won just two aerial duals during the game - a big contrast to his defensive partner van Dijk, who won an unmatched seven.

We'll learn more about how the France U21 international will cope with the physicality in the Premier League over the coming weeks.