‘It’s really not fair’: Coach says £100k-a-week star is dominating Liverpool players in training

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It looks like Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip has earned a new nickname for his all-action defensive displays in training these days.

On Friday, Liverpool released footage of the Cameroon international’s talents in terms of goalscoring, finding the net on a few occasions in training matches between the players themselves.

But it seems like he isn’t shirking his defensive duties, either.

Pep Lijnders, who is assistant to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, has revealed to the club’s official website that Matip has been nicknamed ‘The Tower’ for his towering defensive showings behind the scenes in Austria, claiming it ‘isn’t fair’ on the rest of the players.

He said: “In these drills, we call Joel ‘The Tower’ – it is really not fair for the boys to have set-pieces against him because he clears everything! Joel was also the player of the tournament when we did a competition we call ‘Finals’ with street rules in the evening session on Friday! The better you play, the longer your team stays on.”

Huge player

The former Schalke defender, who earns £100,000 per week at Anfield, is a huge player for Klopp.

Everyone knows about Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez’s injuries last season, but Matip has also been out since January and yet he isn’t talked about anywhere near as often.

When Liverpool won the Champions League, it was Matip and Van Dijk at the heart of the Reds’ defence and that should remind supporters that nicknames like these shouldn’t come as much a surprise.

Matip, at 6’4, is an absolute towering figure for the Merseysiders. You only hope that he gets to show it on the field on a regular basis.