Liverpool players vote for 'crazy' teammate to leave rondo session during training for Bournemouth
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Spirits are high at Liverpool this week following an excellent win over AC Milan on Tuesday.
It had threatened to be a dark few days for the Reds after they were surprisingly beaten by Nottingham Forest last weekend.
With the pressure on Arne Slot a little for the first time, San Siro did not look an especially nice place for Liverpool to visit to kick off their Champions League campaign.
But despite going behind to an early goal from Christian Pulisic, the Reds settled into the game and in the end could have won by more.
Now back on Merseyside, Liverpool have been preparing for another Premier League fixture at the AXA Training Centre over the last couple of days.
After the disappointment of the Forest result, the Reds are going to have to bounce back against Bournemouth. Preparations took an interesting turn on Thursday, with one member of the Liverpool squad voted out of a rondo session.
Liverpool players vote against Ibrahima Konate
Tuesday’s win has clearly given everyone at Liverpool a timely lift. Had the Reds failed to get the points in Milan, things could have become a little tense.
Of course, Slot and his players still have to back it up by beating Bournemouth at Anfield. There will be no place to hide if they fail to win against another middle of the pack member of the Premier League at home.
And judging by the latest ‘Inside Training’ video on LFCTV, Liverpool are preparing well for the visit of the Cherries.
There was plenty of interesting takeaways from the video, with young midfielder Tommy Pilling called up to first-team training by Slot.
As Pilling got stuck into the session with Liverpool’s senior stars, there was a funny moment from occasional class clown Ibrahima Konate.
Konate is fresh off the back of a first goal in over two-and-a-half years on Tuesday, but for whatever reason, his Liverpool teammates weren’t having him on Thursday.
READ MORE: Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk set new Champions League record for Liverpool
The context is a little difficult to grasp here, but after a rondo session, first-team development coach Aaron Briggs can be seen walking to Pilling, then to Luis Diaz and Andy Robertson, who each whisper in his ear.
“Ibou!” shouts Briggs, before pointing out of the circle. Laughter erupts from the Liverpool players. “I didn’t vote you, bro!” shouts Trent Alexander-Arnold, as Konate remonstrates with Briggs.
“It’s not me who decided, the players decided!” the Liverpool coach protests, as Slot laughs on in the background.
Seemingly voted out of the rondo, Konate shakes his head and mutters as he marches out of the circle. The disappointment from the Frenchman seems genuine, but it is clearly just a bit of fun during training.
Konate earns praise for AC Milan display
Although his teammates may have turned against him on this occasion, Konate did earn praise from Liverpool’s players for his performance on Tuesday.
After a difficult end to last season, Konate has looked back to his best this season. The 25-year-old came on for Jarell Quansah at half-time on matchday one and has played every minute since.
And after he leapt above Mike Maignan and Fikayo Tomori to draw Liverpool level at San Siro, Ryan Gravenberch called Konate ‘crazy‘.
The centre-back is likely to go again next to Virgil van Dijk on Saturday as he closes in on 100 appearances for the Reds.
He may not be the most popular in rondos, but if Liverpool can keep Ibou fit, they could be about to see the very best of him.
