Virgil van Dijk was ‘delighted’ to see his centre-back teammate Joel Matip finally fulfil his prophecy on the pitch by scoring against Leeds last month, he told the Liverpool website.
Matip helped the Reds thrash the Whites 6-0 at Anfield in February by scoring their second after half an hour. Mohamed Salah had already opened the scoring from the penalty spot before assisting the Cameroonian. The Egyptian would also then turn in another spot-kick.
Leeds had no answer for what Jurgen Klopp’s side threw at them as Marcelo Bielsa’s man-marking system left the Elland Road natives badly exposed. Matip’s goal, in particular, put the focus on their issues, as six players stood touch-tight to gift the defender space to run.
Eventually, Pascal Struijk had to rush out of the visitors’ backline to close Matip down. But in doing so, allowed the marauding centre-half space to play a one-two with Salah and get into Illan Meslier’s area. And from there, he lifted the ball home after continuing his run.
Matip had not scored for Liverpool since December 2020 before finding the back of Leeds’ net last month. He also became the Reds’ 17th different league goalscorer so far this term.
Van Dijk ‘delighted’ Liverpool partner Matip finally scored from a ‘quality’ run
Matip enthralled many, including Van Dijk, when the Liverpool ace opened his account for the term so far against Leeds. The 27-cap international particularly pleased his centre-half partner, as Van Dijk knew Matip has goals in his locker having threatened to score before.
“I have mentioned many times already before that one day he was going to score one of those dribbles that he does over the pitch with such good quality from him,” Van Dijk said.
“It opens up the game, it opens up space for him to drive in. So, I was definitely delighted to see him score. Obviously, for him, it was a great month, as well.”
Matip last scored for Liverpool before facing Leeds in February when he hit home against Wolves in December 2020. The defender then went 24 outings without rifling the net.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
