“The worst player of the Klopp era” “Needs to retire” – Liverpool fans run out of patience with 31-year-old after 4-3 loss to Bayern
Liverpool fans slammed Joel Matip on social media for being at fault behind Bayern Munich's first two goals. The Reds went on to lose the pre-season friendly 4-3 at the Singapore National Stadium on Wednesday, August 2.
Jurgen Klopp and Co. were aiming to end their pre-season tour on a high by hoisting the Singapore Cup against Bayern Munich. The Reds were high on confidence after thrashing Leicester City 4-0 on July 30.
Liverpool took an early lead via an exceptional Cody Gakpo finish in the second minute. Despite the Bavarians dominating with the ball, Virgil van Dijk doubled the Reds' lead in the 28th minute with a powerful header from a corner.
Serge Gnabry halved the deficit five minutes later after he made a brilliant run and cut inside Joel Matip to finish past a helpless Alisson Becker. Bayern leveled the score in the 42nd minute when Gnabry once again danced into the box past Matip and squared the ball to Leroy Sane to tap home.
Both sides made several changes in the second half. Luis Diaz gave the Reds the lead with a stellar finish into the bottom left corner in the 66th minute. However, it was the Bundesliga champions who ended on a high.
Josep Stanisic was gifted an open goal in the 80th minute after Alisson saved Matthijs de Ligt's header from a free-kick. Bayern full-back Frans Kratzig scored a terrific volley from distance to secure a hard-fought 4-3 win.
Liverpool fans vented most of their frustrations on Joel Matip. The former Cameroon international struggled to keep up with the pace of the game, showed no aggression, and was partly at fault for their opening two goals.
Some reactions can be viewed below:
Gomez I can make a case for. Versatility across anywhere in defence, better in possession than Konate at RCB and has been solid at RB when covering Trent
Matip on the other hand, offers nothing in the present day besides the rare lengthy run through midfield
Starting with Matip… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Matip needs to retire
Matip is genuinely the worst Liverpool player of the Klopp era, Lovren was never this bad
This matip performance …. pic.twitter.com/mII6vz8KUu
Both Bayern goals similar with the space in the vacant right-back spot exploited by Gnabry, who scored one and created the other for Sane. Matip just doesn't have Konate's pace to get across and cover.
Matip is so far past it the thought of him having to come in when Konate gets injured is actually terrifying
Matip is a defensive liability like his brother Gomez 😭
Matip just isn’t it anymore, unfortunately.
Matip was substituted at half-time for Ibrahima Konate. The Anfield faithful will be hoping the club signs a new center-back before the Reds' Premier League clash against Chelsea on August 13.
Liverpool vs Bayern Munich: Looking at the statistics from the pre-season friendly clash
Bayern Munich defeated Liverpool 4-3 to win the Singapore Cup during their pre-season friendly. Let's take a look at the statistics to see how both teams actually performed on the pitch.
Despite trailing twice against Liverpool, the Bavarians dominated possession. They had 61 percent of the ball, compared to the Reds' 39 percent. Thomas Tuchel's men looked comfortable on the ball and always looked like getting back into the game.
Bayern had 16 shots in total (with 12 being on target) compared to the Reds' 12 (with eight being on target). Moreover, Jurgen Klopp's side only completed 392 passes (84 percent pass accuracy), whereas the Bavarians had an impressive 604 (89 percent pass accuracy).
Liverpool will aim to get back to winning ways in their final pre-season clash against Darmstadt on August 7.