Liverpool: Time to put some respect on the name of Joel Matip

Liverpool defender Joel Matip is reaching new heights in a Red shirt as he proves to the world how good he is at Anfield this season.

You would be forgiven if you were surprised to see this Liverpool name on the score sheet on Saturday against Arsenal, but not on the team sheet. It’s time everybody took Joel Matip seriously.

The 28-year-old put together an impressive overall display, something that the Anfield faithful are getting used to. In addition to his towering header to open scoring, the defender commanded the line excellently alongside his regular partner, Virgil Van Dijk.

His recent opportunity to consistently perform comes after a three years on Jurgen Klopp’s centre back conveyor belt, where he was regularly rotated next to the streaky Dejan Lovren and promising Joe Gomez. It took a while, but the first-choice partnership has finally been decided.

The general consensus among reds was that a fully-fit Gomez would walk into Klopp’s preferred eleven, barring any major incidents. However, the 22-year-old has been forced to the side-lines in recent weeks while Matip has continued to flourish in key fixtures.

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It’s hard to understand why this took so long. We saw Matip come up with the goods when it mattered more than ever on multiple occasions last year, during crucial fixtures. During 2018-2019’s glorious Champions League run, Liverpool’s defense earned clean sheets against Napoli, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and eventually Tottenham Hotspur with him starting.

On top of his work at the back, he has grown more adventurous when going forward. He carries the ball surprisingly well when called upon and has bagged key goals against elite competition such as Manchester City and Arsenal.

Perhaps Matip’s perception was clouded by the manner in which he was acquired by the club. Arriving on a free from Schalke, he wasn’t exactly a highly touted name in the wider football community. Without an opportunity to showcase his consistency, how was he to show Klopp the extent of what he was missing?

For the majority of the summer, the club was linked to 20-year-old Dutch defender Matthijs de Light, with the view of finding a consistent partner for Van Dijk. Many within the media suggested that addition would have been the final puzzle piece for this already excellent side, as they look to push City even further.

As Klopp has a tendency to do, he looked within the squad at who could fill that role, rather than elsewhere and it has paid off handsomely.

With his contract running out at the end of this year, it should be a matter of priority for the club to keep Matip within the camp during the prime of his career.