Garth Crooks has raved about Liverpool central defender Joel Matip on BBC Sport following his performance against Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend.
The former Tottenham Hotspur forward has included Liverpool centre-back Matip in his BBC Premier League Team of the Week.
Crooks has noted how the Cameroonian defender complements Virgil van Dijk, and has suggested that the 30-year-old does not often get noticed.
Liverpool beat Brighton 2-0 away from home in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Praise for Liverpool defender Joel Matip
Crooks wrote on BBC Sport: “It’s not often Joel Matip makes my team of the week largely due to his team-mate Virgil van Dijk’s outstanding performances.
“But on this occasion I was compelled to select the former Cameroon international. It started with the ball he played for Luis Diaz to run onto and score his second goal for Liverpool since his arrival.
“The ball was magnificent. The rest of the defender’s performance was consistently high.
“Matip always seems to be the junior partner when he plays alongside Van Dijk and is often left to do the last-minute blocks and headers off the line while Van Dijk controls the traffic and organises all the other proceedings.
“Both defenders played well and no heroics were required against Brighton but Matip pipped it for me.”
Important player
In our view, Matip is an important player for Liverpool and has been hugely successful during his time at Anfield so far.
The 30-year-old has won the Premier League and the Champions League with the Reds.
The former Schalke central defender has scored six goals in 117 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career.
Matip has scored one goal and provided two assists in 22 Premier League appearances for Liverpool so far this season.
The defender has played six times in the Champions League and four times in the Carabao Cup this campaign.
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