Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has showered praise for Cameroonian star Joel Matip’s adaptation in the current Reds’ squad.
After thrashing Bournemouth 4-0 at the weekend, Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League. A Mohamed Salah hat-trick inspired Jurgen Klopp’s men to send out a message to the rest of the clubs in the Premier League. And Chelsea beat Manchester City a few hours later which ensured that Liverpool remained at the summit of England’s top flight 16 games into the season.
But what stands out this season from usual Liverpool campaigns is the solid defensive record that they have set so far. Signing Alisson Becker in the summer for a massive £60 million has strengthened up their last line of defense immensely and Virgil Van Dijk has been a leader from the heart of the back line. Alongside the Dutchman, young 21-year-old Englishman Joe Gomez has taken his game to the next level but unfortunately suffered an injury against Burnley where reports confirmed that he would miss the remainder of the year.
With Dejan Lovren also unavailable, Klopp turned to Joel Matip, who made only one previous League appearance this season. The 27-year-old center back looked shaky against Burnley at Turf Moor and Klopp let his frustrations show when Matip carelessly slashed quite a few balls into the stands when not under pressure.
However, a much-improved outing at the Vitality Stadium against Bournemouth earned some praise for Matip as he helped Liverpool keeping another clean sheet in the league. His German boss also highlighted the fact that without playing too much, Matip slotted in well, “I could write a book about Virgil’s strengths and about Alisson’s strengths, but look what Joel Matip did today – how good he was, and he has absolutely no rhythm. He trains on the highest level and he’s not even in the squad sometimes.”
Matip has been woeful for Liverpool in the past at times but alongside Van Dijk, he always seems to perform better than his usual abilities. Klopp will be hoping that Lovren and Gomez return to training soon as a tricky run of fixtures is up for Liverpool next.
