Jurgen Klopp admitted that Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip looked nervous during the first-half of last night’s Merseyside Derby win.
Matip had been all at sea during last weekend’s terrible defeat against Wolves. As a result, it was perhaps a surprise to see Klopp stick with him and partner Joe Gomez for yesterday’s huge game.
Ultimately, it turned out to be a decent enough decision, with the pair helping Liverpool to a clean sheet. Having shanked a clearance early on though, it had looked as though Matip still had the Wolves game in his mind.
And speaking to Viaplay Fotball at the end of the 2-0 win over Everton, Klopp admitted that he could see some nerves on display from the 31-year-old.
“You could see with the first action of Joel Matip that he’s not full of confidence,” he said. “But he fought himself back into the game and had a really good performance.” That he did, it must be said. So too did Gomez, who Klopp also praised.
“Joe Gomez had a similar situation in the second half. The first ball slipped over his foot, but that’s not a problem. These things can happen. It’s how you react and both reacted brilliantly.”
Klopp sticks by struggling pair
It was a really big call from Klopp to go with Matip and Gomez once again. There weren’t many winners from Liverpool’s mauling at Wolves last Saturday, but those two looked like being the biggest losers.
They were utterly appalling at Molineux. Neither looked ready to step up in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, leading to an apparent total lack of communication in the Reds defence.
In some ways, they’re status as a partnership seemed almost untenable. There was no way Jurgen could justify keeping things the same with the supremely physical Everton coming to town, surely?
Well, this is why Klopp is a top-level coach and we are not. We’d have stuck Nat Phillips in, if only to protect the confidence of either Matip or Gomez. Against a Sean Dyche side, Phillips looked a decent bet.
But the Liverpool manager stuck with his more experienced options. Both have been brilliant players for Liverpool at one time or another and Klopp obviously backs them to be so again.
On the back of last night’s display, it’s hard to draw too many conclusions. Everton didn’t test them nearly as much as they ought to have. But Jurgen is right – they both showed up and played through the nerves. With Virgil back on the bench last night, one of them will surely drop out at Newcastle on Saturday. Thankfully, either can do so with his head back held high.
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