Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has paid Reds defender Joel Matip a tremendous compliment by comparing him to arguably the club’s best ever centre half.
Aldo was so impressed by the 25 year old’s performance against Manchester United on Monday that he gave the Cameroonian star his man of the match, and says he reminds him of a certain Alan Hansen. Writing in his column for the Liverpool Echo, Aldridge believes Matip’s ability to bring the ball out from defence and put the opposition under pressure in their own half is comparable to what Hansen did in his heyday:
“I have been particularly impressed with Matip, who was my man of the match on Monday and kept Zlatan Ibrahimovic pretty quiet. He can also create chances out of defence, as he demonstrated with his pass for Emre Can in the second half.”
“When teams sit back, you need someone who can step into midfield from the back. In my day, we’d have Alan Hansen bringing the ball out and he’d sometimes get as far as the opposing back four. Matip is capable of doing that.”
It is probably too early to compare Matip and Hansen as the Scottish international played an integral part in numerous triumphs over 14 years, but there is no doubting their similarities in terms of style of play, and their ability on the ball. If Matip is just half as successful as Hansen was, he will be doing very well indeed.
