Liverpool recorded an easy 3-0 victory against Southampton at Anfield on Saturday afternoon, but some fans were concerned with Joel Matip in the centre of defence.
Playing because Dejan Lovren is still out injured and preferred over Joe Gomez, Matip almost gifted the visitors a goal in the first-half with a misplaced pass and had to be bailed out by defensive partner Virgil Van Dijk.
He made amends with the second goal of the game, a great header, but Liverpool have never struggled to score.
Fans will have been relieved to see Mohammed Salah back on the scoresheet after a mini goal drought. He scored right at the end of the first-half after a stunning free kick from Xherdan Shaqiri on his first league start.
The ball came back off the underside of the bar, leaving Salah to score from just a few inches out.
Liverpool kept a clean sheet so it might seem strange for fans to be criticising a defender, but Matip didn’t look convincing and there’s an argument that Jurgen Klopp is still one quality centre-back away from having an almost perfect starting XI.
Here are the best reactions from disgruntled Liverpool fans:
Matip worries me??? and Robertson this is the first time I have seen him tired ??
— Osaroh (@OSARUMESE08) September 22, 2018
maTiP iS a wEaK liNK
— . (@oDogLFC) September 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/IceKarim20/status/1043504613972951040
https://twitter.com/TopTierTrent/status/1043504543873605633
Matip is poor. Not even a good back up to have
— Mbre (@duggo11) September 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/Ritz101Ritz/status/1043504093652639744
https://twitter.com/elmo2610/status/1043503655301857280
The Matip we signed was decent. Now he just looks permanently rusty.
— QushyM (@muscherano) September 22, 2018
Watching VVD play makes me realise how much of a liability Matip is. Shaqiri's mentality and attitude is something different under Klopp.
— Ajmal (@AjmalM95) September 22, 2018
OPINION
We didn’t think that Matip looked too bad this afternoon. One misplaced pass doesn’t a bad game make, and he was decent in distribution and scored a goal. However, there are a lot of Liverpool fans who obviously remain unconvinced by him and don’t like to see him playing. They might well have to put up with a bit more of him in the near future though, after Virgil van Dijk went off injured in the second half. He was replaced by Joe Gomez and looked to be in some pain when he went off. If it does turn out to be a serious injury it would be a massive blow for Liverpool. As it stands though it’s another easy win for Klopp’s side, who stay at the top of the Premier League. However, they do have Chelsea and Man City coming up, in what could be a defining few games in the league.