Liverpool predicted XI vs Hull: No let downs, please
By Tom Bogert
CB Joel Matip
Stories are coming out left, right and center with adulation for Matip. One, comically, says that he’s a ‘master of the dark arts.’ Yeah, that’s also referred to as playing central defense.
One of the top reasons backing the article was that he ‘nudged Diego Costa in the back going up for a header’ as if he tried to break his leg. It was weird. That story was praising Matip, of course, which isn’t usually connected with ‘dark arts.’
Other, more tenable articles, have included that with Matip on the field, defensive set pieces feel much more safe. He’s been likened to Sami Hyypia in that regard, as well as going forward on attacking dead balls.
Matip has lived up to the billing this year.