Joel Matip has been delighted with Virgil van Dijk's return and the addition of Ibrahima Konate to Liverpool's defensive ranks.
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Liverpool defender Joel Matip expressed his delight following the return of Netherlands footballer Virgil van Dijk and the addition of Ibrahima Konate to the team’s defensive ranks. Van Dijk and Matip have been able to re-establish their impressive centre-half partnership this season. The No.4 has effortlessly slotted back into the Reds’ line-up, having missed most of 2020-21 with a knee injury. Konate kept back-to-back clean sheets in his first two competitive starts for Jurgen Klopp’s side. The defender arrived from RB Leipzig in the summer.
“It has been great for me to play alongside Virgil again. It was a long time for him to be out and I am really happy to see him back on the pitch. He’s the complete centre-back. He is calm with the ball and great against the ball. He is a leader when we are playing and we missed him, but now he is back and that is good for us. Ibou is settling in really good. It always takes some time to settle in general and in the defence to get a good connection,” said Matip as quoted by Liverpool’s official website.
“It needs time before I know how he will react and he will know how I react. We have trained a lot together and it will always need some time next to a new player, but he is already going really well. Everybody has the same idea of football in how we defend, but of course everybody reacts a little bit differently so you need to get adapted. It depends on the six who are playing because we do not all play the same way so we always have to make some small adaptations. But the idea of how we play – and how we defend – always stays the same. Of course, small adaptations are necessary for every player because every player is different,” he added.
Matip is in the midst of his sixth season as a Red after arriving at Anfield in the summer of 2016, following a free transfer from Schalke. The defender has lifted Premier League, Champions League and UEFA Super Cup titles during that time, and believes this success was due to the collective and personal growth in a ‘special’ environment.
“This is my sixth year at Liverpool and, looking backwards, it feels like it has gone in the blink of an eye. My first league game against a strong Tottenham side was really special. Unfortunately, it was only a draw, but it was brilliant for me to feel the shirt in a proper game. It’s not a great memory that it was a draw, but everybody remembers his first game,” he said.
“I am already five years here and you get connected. You feel this amazing club even if you walk through the city. There are so many Liverpool supporters around the world that you just feel how big the club is and how many people love the club in their own special way. You just feel part of a really special thing. To be in this environment helps you to grow and it has gone really well – really quickly – and now I hope to enjoy the next years here. I think we are in good shape and we don’t have to be afraid of any team, but we have to play our football 100 per cent,” added Matip.
