Joel Matip's LFC report card: 'Not satisfied so far'

The elegant centre-back joined Jürgen Klopp’s team from Schalke in the summer of 2016, bringing his poise and presence to the Reds from the Bundesliga.

Matip’s maiden season was hampered by injury and suspension but the No.32 nevertheless evidenced his ability to stop attacks at one end and be the basis for forays in the opposite direction.

Now midway through his second term on Merseyside, the 26-year-old declares his contribution to date acceptable – but with plenty of objectives to accomplish before he can raise his personal mark.

“It’s OK but I would not say I’m satisfied. It was a good beginning and I hope a lot more good games will follow,” he tells Liverpoolfc.com ahead of Sunday’s clash with Southampton.

Liverpool travel to the south coast in the thick of a congested battle for a position in the Premier League’s top four places, having drawn 2-2 at home to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

The current situation has not come as a surprise to Matip but neither does it make him flinch. “There are a lot of really good teams in this league, everybody knew it before,” he says.

“They have a lot of quality. But we don’t have to hide. We’re doing our job and looking forward. We’re confident we’ll do a good job in the league.

“Southampton are not in the best shape at the moment but it will be a hard and tough fight. We have to go 100 per cent to get something.

“We have a good feeling, we have enough self-confidence and we are looking forward to the game. We have to always stay concentrated. We have enough quality to be in front after 90 minutes.”

Matip’s last start for the Reds came in the comprehensive 3-0 win at Huddersfield Town late last month – a match in which he set a new club record.

The defender attempted 161 passes at the John Smith’s Stadium, more than any Liverpool player has managed in a single game since Opta began collecting such data in 2003-04.

“That’s a lot of passes!” he responds when informed of the statistic.

“But we have a lot of possession. We have to control the ball; if we have the ball, the other team cannot score – that’s part of the job.

“We always try to play but we will not force it if it’s not possible. We are also able to use long balls. We don’t always have to play but it can be a strength of ours if we keep the ball and don’t let the other team control it. For me, it helps if I’ve got the ball.”

Matip was named among the substitutes for the meeting with Spurs at Anfield as January signing Virgil van Dijk was restored to Klopp’s line-up.

The Netherlands international has already positively influenced his new colleagues on and off the pitch, according to his fellow centre-half.

Matip reports: “He is a great person. We can laugh together – he is good for the team and with his quality he will help the team.

“We now have more players at centre-back, so we can change if somebody is not in the best shape and there is no loss of quality. He will help the team, he has done it from the beginning.

“He is a complete defender. Maybe in a few moments he is more physical, but he is a complete defender, of course, who can help us in every situation.”

With a dozen fixtures remaining, Southampton find themselves among the teams searching for much-needed points to extinguish the threat of relegation.

“I don’t get why,” said Klopp when asked about the situation of Mauricio Pellegrino’s team in the table, and Matip echoes that sentiment in his assessment of what will be required at St Mary’s.

“They have a really good team. I’m not sure why they are in this position,” he concludes.

“They have a lot of quality in their team; they are always a threat even if they are not in the best shape at the moment. We have to do everything to keep them out.”