James Pearce has suggested that the battle to partner Virgil Van Dijk at the heart of Liverpool’s defence is still very much on, and that Joel Matip failed to seize upon his opportunity to impress in UEFA Super Cup by being “strangely erratic”.
The Cameroonian was given the nod on Wednesday night after Jurgen Klopp had preferred Joe Gomez in the Premier League opener against Norwich City, but Pearce was less than impressed with what he saw in Istanbul.
Writing during a Q&A for the Athletic, he said: “That place alongside Van Dijk is up for grabs.
“I’d say it’s 50-50 at the moment.
“Matip had the chance to really nail it down in the Super Cup but he was strangely erratic.”
OPINION
This time last year Joel Matip looked completely out of the running when it came to a starting berth for Liverpool, but football is a fickle game, and with Joe Gomez picking up his long term injury, the Cameroonian came into the side and put in some stellar displays towards the end of last season. By the end of the campaign, he had averaged 1.8 tackles, 1.5 interceptions, and 3.5 clearances per game, as per Whoscored. More than anything, however, what has prevented Matip from nailing down a place in the starting 11 for the Reds has been his propensity for mistakes, and Wednesday’s performance will not have done much to convince his manager that he has left that part of his game behind entirely. Matip is still very much in the running to make that role next to Van Dijk his own, but he needs to sharpen up and he needs to do it quickly.
