Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has praised Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip and identified one aspect of his game that is better than Virgil van Dijk‘s.
The 30-year-old has been in excellent form this campaign, and Ferdinand says that the ex-Cameroon international’s performances deserve recognition, citing his passing as one key area where he excels:
“Matip’s underrated. He’s better at passing through the lines than Virgil. He passes through to the strikers much cleaner. But Virgil has got that big switch (of play), it’s a bad weapon.”
Supporters on Twitter are glad that Ferdinand and others are beginning to take notice of Matip, and they have also been debating his remarks about van Dijk:
No lies here
— Mr.Wiafe🤫 (@clementwiafe) March 1, 2022
They play different strings on the same bow.
— Say What? (@GrahamHehir) March 1, 2022
Virgil can’t do it all.
— Authenticnelly (@authenticnelly) March 1, 2022
As a liverpool fan i can confirm he isnt underrated by us
— El Johnsy (@TheJohnzle) March 1, 2022
short passes = joel, long ball = virgil all the way
— – (@nridhm) March 1, 2022
Just say he’s better than harry Maguire
— Mr Jurgen klopp (@Oyedirankehind7) March 1, 2022
When it comes to passing accuracy vvd tops in LFC
Maybe matip has a better ball control than vvd— Kanu Levi (@kanu_levi) March 1, 2022
Hes better at passing through the lines and dribbling. Virgil is better at long balls and defending. They compliment each other beautifully and we are so lucky to have them 🥰
— 🇵🇸 🇪🇬 ملك مصر (@Usman_LS6) March 1, 2022
He’s been doing it for a minute now https://t.co/93vvhTRE72
— Damilola (@__Damaine) March 1, 2022
Anyone who watches Liverpool on a regular basis knows that Matip is superb when feeding the ball into the strikers through the lines.
Passing is one of the defender’s key strengths, although he can sometimes be a bit lackadaisical when passing along the backline or to the keeper. Combined with his ability to make forward runs in possession, he is very much an archetypal modern-day centre-back.