James Pearce has heralded Joel Matip’s ‘very solid’ contribution to Liverpool in the first two months of the 2023/24 season.
The Athletic reporter and three of his colleagues were reviewing the Reds’ campaign so far when they addressed a number of categories, including who has been the ‘unsung hero’ of Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
Pearce put forward the £100,000-per-week defender (Capology) as his pick, saying: “I expected Ibrahima Konate to nail down the centre-back spot next to Virgil van Dijk, but the former Cameroon international had other ideas.
“Matip has started six of Liverpool’s eight games and he’s repaid Klopp’s faith with his contribution defensively. He’s been very solid.”
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While the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez have taken much of the glory among the Liverpool squad so far this season, Matip’s contribution to the team also deserves plenty of recognition.
There was a justifiable sense among many Reds supporters during and after the transfer window that a centre-back addition was needed, but the 32-year-old certainly hasn’t let anyone down with his displays since the start of the campaign.
As per FBref, he’s won the second-most aerial duels (16) and made the fourth-most interceptions (eight) and ball recoveries (38) at Anfield so far in 2023/24, while WhoScored figures show that he ranks second for clearances per match (4.7).
The only real blemish on Matip’s season up to this point is one for which he can’t be blamed, being the unfortunate man to unwittingly divert the ball into his own net for Tottenham’s last-gasp winner at the end of September in what was a moment of sheer bad luck.
Such has been his form that Konate has had to settle for a place on the bench and piecemeal substitute appearances even since his return from injury (Transfermarkt). Through no fault of the Frenchman’s, don’t expect that to change soon unless fate intervenes.