Joel Matip return no ‘quick-fix’ for Liverpool
The centre-back has missed the last six weeks because of injury and then uncertainty over his availability in a club versus country row with Cameroon.
After a late substitute appearance in the 3-2 defeat to Swansea and an hour for the U23s on Sunday, Matip is set to start against Southampton tonight as Liverpool seek to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final. The three goals conceded against Swansea, who were bottom of the league when they arrived at Anfield, led to more questions about their defensive resilience but Klopp stressed Matip cannot cure all their ills by himself.
“Of course, it’s good because he is a really good player, but he was injured for six weeks,” said the Reds boss.
“The other players had to play nearly all the time, that’s more the problem in this time - not that Joel cannot play all of the time.
“But I understand football in a different way; the final mistake in the game sometimes it’s the goalkeeper, sometimes it’s the defender, sometimes it’s somebody else, but most of the time there are seven or eight players involved — that’s the defending I talk about.
“Everybody is responsible for everything and if you avoid this pass then your team-mate cannot make the last mistake.
“That’s how we understand it, so it is not about one player or something. It’s clear what we’ve done wrong and we really have to do better.”
While Matip’s presence will bolster the defence - and keeping a clean sheet is important against Southampton - it is the other end of the pitch where Liverpool need to perform.
The absence of forward Sadio Mane, with Senegal at the African Nations Cup, has arguably had a bigger influence on performances as the team has looked one-paced and pedestrian against teams whose first instinct is containment. Klopp’s side have yet to score against Saints in two meetings this season and the Reds boss expects to find Claude Puel’s side difficult to break down again.
If Liverpool do not score they will go out but history shows on both occasions they have lost the semi-final first leg 1-0 they have drawn the return fixture and failed to progress to Wembley.
However, despite their slip-up against Swansea, Klopp is confident there is no need to be too concerned about their attacking options.
“Southampton are a football-playing side (but) against us they always defended pretty deep,” he said. “That’s kind of a sign of respect, I would say, they think that’s the way to defend us. But, for us, it changes nothing really.
“It was only a 1-0 and that’s no different for us. If we had been down 3-0 we would have to think about a few things but it is only 1-0 and so still everything is possible for us.
“In the good moments this team is still able to play wonderful football and we did it in the Swansea game.
“That’s all we have to do, don’t think about why we lost this or that and all that stuff.”
Meanwhile, Southampton boss Claude Puel has expressed confidence that youngster Jack Stephens can fill in for Virgil van Dijk if the Dutchman is unable to shake off an ankle injury ahead of their trip to Anfield.
The England U21 international replaced Van Dijk during the second half of their 3-0 victory over Leicester on Sunday which was only the centre-back’s sixth appearance for the Saints in all competitions.
Puel’s side face the daunting task of travelling to Merseyside on Wednesday as they look to preserve their first leg lead. For much of the season, Puel has stuck with his rotational policy but the possibility of missing a key player like Van Dijk does not worry the boss as he believes the occasion will not concern Stephens, despite his lack of experience.
When asked if the second leg at Anfield would be a good experience for Stephens, the Saints boss said: “If he has to play this game, I think he will play with good spirit and he’s a good player.
“He is an England U21 international and he knows about these important games. He has the quality and I have full confidence with Jack. He’s a good defender, he’s intelligent, he can anticipate the action and he’s very good technically.”
Many have questioned if the Saints can handle the rousing atmosphere at one of world’s football most iconic stadiums but Puel insists his previous experience at Anfield, with Lyon in 2009, will help him equip his squad and prepare Southampton for a game of this magnitude.
“Of course, it is special to play at Liverpool but I think it will be an exciting game,” Puel said.
“We are not afraid about this. For me, it is the same. I played one game there. It was a good memory. It was with Lyon (in 2009) we played in the Champions League and we won. It is important for all of the players, the squad, to play this game with a positive attitude. It will be a difficult game but with all possibilities.
“If we respect our play and quality, it will be dangerous and not good to just defend and try to preserve this lead, it is not possible.
“We will see the result. We are not the favourites, it is the second leg away against a great team with great players but it is a positive because the pressure is on them not us.”
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