Joel Matip scored a sensational solo goal during Liverpool training yesterday, leaving his teammates and coaching staff in awe.
The goal was so good, that the official Liverpool FC Twitter account simply had to post it. First, Matip nicked the ball away from Roberto Firmino on the opposing team.
To ooh’s and ah’s from the coaching staff, he then slipped past a three-way challenge from Tyler Morton, Carvalho and Firmino. Advancing towards goal, Matip dummied away from Joe Gomez before an outside-of-the-boot finish that left Marcelo Pitaluga with no chance.
“Mamma Mia!” shouted Pep Lijnders, while Jurgen Klopp couldn’t hide his smile either. “You can see the joy in his face,” joked the manager. “He’s really happy, I can tell you.”
Is there any centre-back in world football who could do what Matip does on such a regular basis?
Matip roars back after losing his place
Matip was unfortunate to lose his place in the side last season, culminating with a spot on the bench in the Champions League final.
With all the deserved furore around Ibrahima Konate’s performances, Matip was overlooked a little. That was despite him barely putting a foot wrong all season.
That’s the nature of having such strength in depth, I suppose. But it feeds into the feeling that the 30-year-old is incredibly underrated.
These mazy runs have become something of a trademark for Matip. They’re an effective tool for Liverpool to keep up their sleeve when struggling to breakdown a low block. Long may they continue.
The end of last season felt a little bit like the passing of the torch from Matip to Konate. The Cameroonian will turn thirty-one this summer and, given his injury history, it remains to be seen how long he can keep going.
Despite that, he played 43 games last season, his most ever at Liverpool. If he can keep going in this way before Konate returns to the fold this weekend, he could start the season as Virgil Van Dijk’s partner.
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