Matip made his Premier Leagued debut for Liverpool during the 1-1 draw with Tottenham at the weekend.
Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge said that Reds defender Joel Matip made him think of former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand.
Matip made his Premier League debut at the weekend in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane and seemed to impress on his first league outing for the Reds.
Aldridge wrote in his Liverpool Echo column: “I really like the look of Joel Matip who enjoyed an impressive Premier League debut against Spurs.
“Watching him on Saturday made me think of Rio Ferdinand. Matip plays like him. He’s very good on the ball, passes it well and is a good header of the ball.
“Matip settles situations down. He takes the sting out of it and never seems to panic.”
Certainly the Cameroon international offers that bit of presence Liverpool have been lacking at the back for some time, and in his first two appearance in a Liverpool shirt, the back four has looked somewhat more secure – with everyone developing an understanding. He also looked at ease in possession, which cannot be said too much about many Liverpool defenders in recent seasons.
Matip was one of Jurgen Klopp’s first signings as the deal was done while last season was still in progress and on a free transfer the early indications are it was a smart piece of business.
He has seemed at ease on the ball, and his centre-back partner Dejan Lovren seems pretty comfortable with Matip at his side. Liverpool looked more adept when it came to bringing the ball out of defence as well as being that bit harder to break down, although there is still some work to do on that front.
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