The epic Liverpool win over Napoli helped breath life into forgotten men Joel Matip and Jordan Henderson.
Amid all the pre-game hype, the build up and deciding what players were going to make the most amount of difference those names largely went unmuttered.
In fact, if they were talked about, the odds would be that it’d be in a negative light. A kinda ‘I hope they don’t screw up’ statement.
All the talk was about Fabinho vs Naby Keita, with maybe a light sprinkling of Gini Wijnaldum. But then Jurgen Klopp went back to his 4-3-3 formation, which allowed Henderson to come into the side for just his 10th start all season.
Matip has more to owe to lady luck than the former Sunderland man, and wouldn’t have been anywhere near the side if Joe Gomez had been able to stay fit. But now he’s put in two excellent performances in a row and his Liverpool career is looking better than it’s ever done.
His range of passing was excellent, while the Cameroonian’s tackling was razor sharp. Henderson stuck to his task with great discipline as Klopp instructed the England international to sit tight and frustrate Napoli.
Matip may now be forced to miss the massive game against Manchester United and it’ll be interesting to see what shape Klopp goes with after this win.
Fabinho and Keita look great in the 4-2-3-1, which also allows Xherdan Shaqiri a place in the side, but that will probably mean that Henderson misses out. Does he deserve to?
The Mancs may be in the middle of a terrible season, but they still posses flair players who can cause damage. Their win against Fulham was the first time in ages they’ve proven this, and it’ll leave the whole squad with a high.
But regardless of whether they start, Matip and Henderson reminded the Liverpool faithful of their abilities.