'Intense': French media deliver verdicts on William Saliba and Ibrahima Konate after their latest displays
Today at 03:01 AM
William Saliba and Ibrahima Konate are two of the best defenders in the Premier League, and the Arsenal star and the Liverpool ace were in action this past weekend.
France took on Italy away from home at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan on Sunday evening.
Liverpool star Konate and Arsenal ace Saliba started alongside each other in central defence.
France won the UEFA Nations League – League A – Group 2 match 3-1.
The French national media were impressed with Saliba and Konate, and have raved about them.
National media reacts to William Saliba and Ibrahima Konate displays for France vs Italy
Rating Saliba's performance as 7 out of 10, FootMercato wrote: "He needed to get his head back on track after his last less successful performances for the national team, and he did so, to the detriment of a Retegui who could never exist against him.
Rating Konate's performance as 7 out of 10, FootMercato wrote: "Captain of the evening, the Liverpool defender gave a smooth performance.
"Intractable and impactful in the duel, always guided by this little advance in his anticipations, he even rewarded us with a few laser passes to break the Italian lines.
"Inevitably, this performance blurs the hierarchy in central defence, and especially in his distance duel with Upamecano, who was on the bench tonight."
France have won UEFA Nations League League 1 Group 2 with 13 points from six matches.
Arsenal star William Saliba and Liverpool ace Ibrahima Konate's game in numbers
Saliba, linked with Real Madrid, and Konate have been playing well for Arsenal and Liverpool respectively so far this season.
Arsenal centre-back Saliba has played 10 Premier League matches this campaign, while Liverpool centre-back Konate has scored one goal and provided one assist in 11 Premier League games this season.
Against Italy on Sunday evening, Saliba had a pass accuracy of 92.3%, took 72 touches, attempted one dribble, made one tackle, one interception and three clearances.
Konate, the Premier League's best defender, according to Martin Keown, had a pass accuracy of 89.6%, won one header, took 81 touches, and made two tackles and six clearances.
