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da bet esporte： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
What a turnaround a few months can make. Having started the season well behind in the pecking order at Liverpool, Joel Matip more than proved his worth as the Reds marched their way to a sixth Champions League title.
The Cameroon international had played just a total of 276 minutes of Premier League football by the middle of January, but injuries to his teammates allowed him to step in and the defender never truly looked back.
Despite figuring prominently in the second-half of the campaign, the return to fitness of both Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren should provide added competition for Matip next season; but according to the centre-back himself, he is confident of keeping his place.
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Speaking to the club’s official website, Matip said: “It was nice to play and have the success, but a new season begins. You start new and last season doesn’t matter. You only have to take the things, learn the things from last year, but we all start from new. We have a lot of good players. I try to play as much as possible, but we will see.”
The 6 foot 5 star’s performances drew glowing praise from Jurgen Klopp and after impressing in the Champions League win over Bayern Munich, his German boss labelled him as an “outstanding player” and said that it was “unbelievable how he is doing”.
For Liverpool, just as is the case in positions further forward, it’s about getting the best out of your star man. And in the Reds’ case, Virgil van Dijk is undoubtedly the leader of the backline, meaning the choice of his centre-back partner should perhaps revolve around who allows him to play the best, rather than being the best defender for the job themselves.
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Matip’s proven partnership with the Dutchman and seeing the duo deliver starring performances on their way to winning the biggest title in club football should surely warrant the Cameroonian the title of being van Dijk’s fellow centre-back in command.
Indeed, the 27-year-old’s averages of 1.8 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 3.5 clearances comfortably beats the numbers of both Gomez and Lovren, with only the Croatian managing to come out on top in the clearances category.
So combined with his defensive stats and ability to forge a formidable partnership with the PFA Player of the Year, Klopp must once again turn to Matip as van Dijk’s centre-back partner for the future.