Speaking on the Where’s Jeff? Podcast, former Sky Sports pundit Phil Thompson has been waxing-lyrical about Liverpool defender Joel Matip.
The Cameroonian has been in fine fettle so far this term, helping Liverpool keep two clean sheets in their first two Premier League matches this term.
Matip has barely put a foot wrong in the opening matches, and Thompson singled him out for some special praise.
What’s been said?
Thompson and his co-hosts were speaking about the battle Liverpool’s defence will have with Romelu Lukaku this weekend, and Thompson believes Matip will be up for the fight.
“It’s a nice fair point, but just to elaborate on that, Joel Matip has been excellent, even better than van Dijk. The two games that we have had he has been absolutely top class, and he’ll look forward it because he’s a strong boy as well. But you’re spot on lads, Lukaku is making a big difference to this Chelsea side,” Thompson said.
Early days
Matip has been exceptional so far, there’s no doubt about that, but let’s put this into perspective shall we?
Liverpool’s opponents so far have been Norwich and Burnley, and with all due respect, those sides don’t pose much of an attacking threat.
Look, we love Joel Matip as much as the next person, but against Lukaku and Chelsea, we can’t help but feel that someone like Ibrahima Konate or Joe Gomez, fitness permitting, would be more suited to the task.
Matip has been excellent so far this season, but it’s a very small sample size to go off of.
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