‘World class, unreal’: Liverpool fans laud Edwards gem with 9 ball recoveries last night

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Joel Matip reiterated his presence as one of Liverpool’s most underrated players on Thursday night.

There was mild concern yesterday when Liverpool announced that Virgil van Dijk couldn’t participate in the contest due to a positive coronavirus result.

However, Liverpool’s squad is superbly strong and it showed again last night.

Instead of Van Dijk, the Cameroon international started the 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at Anfield – and what a solid performance it was by the former Schalke powerhouse.

Okay there was a couple of hiccups early on, but Matip grew into the contest brilliantly – and his statistics illustrate as much.

According to WhoScored, the 30-year-old defender clocked 94 touches and a pass success rate of 92 percent.

In addition to that, he managed nine ball recoveries, won four out of five-attempted aerial duels and won 100 percent of his tackles.

Michael Edwards brought Matip to Liverpool on a free transfer five-and-a-half years ago, arguably being the bargain of the Reds’ director’s reign on Merseyside.

And here’s how Liverpool supporters reacted to his performance last night:

Bargain

As mentioned, Edwards has masterminded some truly stunning transfers during his time at Anfield.

However, in terms of value for money, signing Matip for nothing has to be considered perhaps his biggest bargain.

Mohamed Salah cost £34 million which, honestly, is an absolute robbery when you consider the Egypt international’s importance to the cause since 2017.

But Matip has also played a massive role in Liverpool’s success under Jurgen Klopp, helping them to a Champions League and Premier League title in successive seasons.

The towering defender doesn’t receive his flowers as often as a Mohamed Salah, or Van Dijk, or Alisson, or Jordan Henderson, but he’s enormously-important for the German manager, as proven again last night.