Joel Matip picks perfect time to repeat Champions League-winning form

Add as preferred source on Google

Joel Matip has returned to his award-winning form at exactly the right time. The Cameroonian is playing wonderfully.

Joel Matip is undoubtedly in form right now. He’s leading a defence, making fantastic decisions at the back, and looks as composed as anyone on the pitch.

This is notable even if we’ve seen it before. Matip was outstanding in Liverpool’s Champions League-winning campaign, and that’s arguably the best we’ve seen from him.

We say ‘arguably’ as Matip also started last season on fire. So well, in fact, that he won the PFA Player of the Month award in October 2019.

Unfortunately for Matip, he picked up an injury almost immediately afterwards and never truly recovered all season. He went on to play just 13 games all season as a result – by far the lowest total of his career.

Now, though, Matip is rediscovering his best form. And it’s come at the perfect time for Liverpool.

Stepping up

Liverpool are in the midst of an injury crisis, of course. Both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are out long-term, leaving Jurgen Klopp with serious problems.

The go-to right now is Matip, a player who battled injury problems all last season, and Fabinho, a defensive midfielder.

That puts extra pressure on Matip, then. He’s the experienced one, he’s the reliable one, and he’s the one who will have to lead the defence in a way he’s never really done.

Van Dijk has always had that role, after all, and Dejan Lovren before him. Matip has always been the second in command.

Now, though, he needs to lead things. His return to form couldn’t be timed better, in that case.

The 29-year-old brings so much solidity and confidence at the back at a time when the Reds need it more than ever. If he keeps it up until May, we’ll undoubtedly look back on Matip as one of the players of the season.