{"id":1108508,"date":"2019-09-27T18:03:42","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T17:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1108508"},"modified":"2019-09-27T18:14:02","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T17:14:02","slug":"why-joel-matip-is-liverpools-overlooked-masterstroke","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/why-joel-matip-is-liverpools-overlooked-masterstroke\/","title":{"rendered":"Joel Matip: Liverpool&#8217;s overlooked masterstroke"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Since the start of the 2018\/19 season, no club ever-present in the Premier League has conceded fewer goals than Liverpool&#8217;s 27.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That doesn&#8217;t seem out of the ordinary, right? Well, it&#8217;s important to remember that before Virgil van Dijk arrived in January 2018, Liverpool effectively lost titles on account of their leaky backline. The Dutchman was huge in turning the Reds&#8217; defensive fortunes around, and he quite rightly receives a ton of credit for it.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"background-color: transparent; display: block; padding: 0; max-width: 700px;\" title=\"Audioboom player\" src=\"https:\/\/embeds.audioboom.com\/posts\/7380470-emery-s-nba-chaos-could-let-man-utd-off-the-hook-unless-auba-keeps-dunking\/embed\/v4?image_option=full\" width=\"480\" height=\"300\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>But defences certainly aren&#8217;t made by one player and partnerships aren&#8217;t made by one centre-back.<\/p>\n<p>Van Dijk has had a multitude of players lining up alongside him since the start of last season: Englishman Joe Gomez is showing all the signs of being an elite centre-back and Dejan Lovren, well, he has his moments.<\/p>\n<p>But throughout all the injuries and\/or loss of form to those two, one man has stood firm: Joel Matip.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1108526\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27170031\/player_card-centre-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27170031\/player_card-centre-1.png 1080w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27170031\/player_card-centre-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27170031\/player_card-centre-1-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27170031\/player_card-centre-1-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27170031\/player_card-centre-1-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27170031\/player_card-centre-1-50x50.png 50w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27170031\/player_card-centre-1-66x65.png 66w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27170031\/player_card-centre-1-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Signed on a free transfer in 2016, Matip was never going to be and never has been the most fashionable player in Jurgen Klopp&#8217;s squad. Why would he be? He didn&#8217;t break the transfer record for a defender and isn&#8217;t a household name for the Uefa Nations League finalists and footballing powerhouse that is the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Matip has partnered Van Dijk in all but six matches across all competitions since January 19 and his form during that time has been close to flawless.<\/p>\n<p>In the Premier League alone, the Cameroon international ranks second at Liverpool in &#8211; hold your breath &#8211; aerial duels won (77), tackles (43), blocks (9), clearances (96), headed clearances (58) and duels won (142). For good measure, he outperforms all of his team-mates in interceptions (35) during that time.<\/p>\n<p>Consistent and reliable, Klopp certainly knows the value of Matip now, recently naming him as &#8220;one of the best pieces of business&#8221; he&#8217;s ever done, despite being responsible for the \u00a375m signing of Van Dijk, the \u00a366.8m purchase of Alisson and the arrivals of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Would You Rather Raheem Sterling or Kevin De Bruyne? Man City Fans Quizzed\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2l5a5DFXllk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Subscribe to <a href=\"http:\/\/sqwk.at\/Squawka-Sub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Squawka\u2019s Youtube channel here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In a world of big transfer fees, to sign a player like Joel Matip on a free transfer is incredible,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/football\/49854788\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> Klopp.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was maybe one of the best pieces of business we did in the last few years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it&#8217;s Matip&#8217;s tall, spindly frame which makes him go under the radar. When the 28-year-old is on the ball, he doesn&#8217;t exactly <em>look <\/em>comfortable but looks can be deceiving \u2013 Matip ranks third among Liverpool players for completed passes in the Premier League (1,176) since that aforementioned January date and has out-dribbled the much more authoritative-looking Van Dijk five to three during that time.<\/p>\n<p>These stats haven&#8217;t gone unnoticed by Klopp, who admits he&#8217;s been an admirer of Matip during their days on opposite sides of the Revierderby in Germany and has championed his development on the ball since then.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Joel was always an incredible talent. He played as an 18-year-old boy for Schalke in the Bundesliga,&#8221; added Klopp.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a strong league and he played there, and was always a standout player, a fixed point in defence.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1108452\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/gaming\/liverpool-player-ratings-fifa-20-full-van-dijk-salah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1108452\" class=\"wp-image-1108452 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27123124\/liverpool-player-ratings.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27123124\/liverpool-player-ratings.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27123124\/liverpool-player-ratings-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27123124\/liverpool-player-ratings-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27123124\/liverpool-player-ratings-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27123124\/liverpool-player-ratings-66x37.jpg 66w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27123124\/liverpool-player-ratings-620x350.jpg 620w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/27123124\/liverpool-player-ratings-940x530.jpg 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1108452\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">READ MORE:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/gaming\/liverpool-player-ratings-fifa-20-full-van-dijk-salah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Liverpool player ratings for FIFA 20 in full<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Yes, he lacked a little bit of consistency &#8211; that can happen, especially with his physical stature.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He doesn&#8217;t always look sensational when he moves. But he grew and developed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Joel is in a really good moment and long may it continue.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Matip&#8217;s most recent highlight was in the final quarter of Liverpool&#8217;s 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Sure, he was targeted and taken to task by Tammy Abraham and, during the first half, struggled to keep pace with the English youngster.<\/p>\n<p>But as should be the case in any successful defence, he was helped out by the likes of Van Dijk, as well as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson covering from full-back.<\/p>\n<p>In the second half, though, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/chelsea-liverpool-player-ratings-premier-league-kante-alexander-arnold\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matip really made himself count<\/a>. Frank Lampard&#8217;s men rallied and put Liverpool under immense pressure but in front of every shot, underneath every header and on the end of every tackle was Matip.<\/p>\n<p>Jamie Carragher was quick to recognise this in his coverage for Sky Sports, even naming Matip as Man of the Match.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m actually going to go for this man, Joel Matip. It\u2019s for his second-half performance,&#8221; he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesportreview.com\/2019\/09\/liverpool-fc-news-carragher-chelsea-fc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1107791\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/23124210\/joel-matip-liverpool-chelsea-2019.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4560\" height=\"3183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/23124210\/joel-matip-liverpool-chelsea-2019.jpg 4560w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/23124210\/joel-matip-liverpool-chelsea-2019-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/23124210\/joel-matip-liverpool-chelsea-2019-768x536.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/23124210\/joel-matip-liverpool-chelsea-2019-1024x715.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/09\/23124210\/joel-matip-liverpool-chelsea-2019-66x46.jpg 66w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4560px) 100vw, 4560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNormally Virgil van Dijk gets all the plaudits but certainly in the last 10-15 minutes he won some huge headers for Liverpool and defended set-pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Given their 100 per cent record in the Premier League so far, it&#8217;s quite obvious that Liverpool have a multitude of weapons and shields at their disposal \u2013 their fearsome front three, the lung-busting efforts of Robertson and sheer quality of delivery from Alexander-Arnold.<\/p>\n<p>But among all those, Matip stands tall as one of Klopp&#8217;s, no, the Premier League&#8217;s most overlooked masterstrokes of recent times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since the start of the 2018\/19 season, no club ever-present in the Premier League has conceded fewer goals than Liverpool&#8217;s 27. That doesn&#8217;t seem out of the ordinary, right? Well, it&#8217;s important to remember that before Virgil van Dijk arrived in January 2018, Liverpool effectively lost titles on account of their leaky backline. The Dutchman&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":1108531,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Liverpool news: Why Joel Matip is Jurgen Klopp's overlooked masterstroke","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Defensive partnerships aren't made by one centre-back. Alongside Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip is Liverpool's overlooked masterstroke.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1108508","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Liverpool news: Why Joel Matip is Jurgen Klopp&#039;s overlooked masterstroke<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Defensive partnerships aren&#039;t made by one centre-back. 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