"He's been fantastic" - Jamie Carragher praises Joel Matip

Pundit Jamie Carragher has praised Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip.

The Reds signed the 30-year-old from Schalke on a free transfer back in the summer of 2016.

However, Matip has struggled with injuries during his time at Anfield. But, the defender has been able to stay on the park this season.

With that being the case, we have seen the best out of Matip in recent times. The centre-back has been averaging a WhoScored player rating of 7.17 across the 2021-22 campaign (41 appearances).

Therefore, Carragher has waxed lyrical about Matip.

“He’s been fantastic,” he told Sky Sports (00:55).

“He’s been as good as Virgil van Dijk this season, he’s been outstanding, he really has. I think Matip this season, his ability to come out with the ball as well, the defensive record alongside Virgil van Dijk is outstanding.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

There is no denying that Matip has been in terrific form this season. The centre-back has been confident with and without the ball.

If anything, Matip has been underrated by plenty of people this campaign. He has not received too much attention from the media.

But, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp admires Matip, and that's all that really matters at the end of the day.

“Look, I cannot help people who don’t see the quality of Joel Matip,” he said back in September 2021, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo. “That’s true, he was a bit unlucky in the past with an injury here or there.

“They were maybe not always the most difficult things. But he’s a big boy, a big player, tall. He can look from time to time a bit edgy or whatever, but he’s an incredible player.

“He was always an incredible player, since he joined us at least, so that’s really good.”

We believe that Matip has plenty to give heading into the future. He is only 30 years of age and contracted until the conclusion of the 2023-24 campaign.