Former Chelsea player Tony Cascarino has said that Jurgen Klopp should have included Joel Matip in the starting lineup against Swansea. Liverpool started with the defensive pairing of Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan.
The decision proved to be costly for the Reds as Swansea humiliated them with a 3-2 defeat with Fernando Llorente scoring a brace for the Welsh side. Klopp later introduced Matip at the dying minutes of the game but to play as the centre-forward.
There were much confusion over the selection of Matip. Clouds were hovering over the 25-year-old defender’s future after he refused to play for Cameroon in the AFCON. FIFA gave a very late confirmation and that might be the reason Klopp opted to start without him.
Cascarino said, “I can’t believe Jurgen Klopp didn’t pick Joel Matip to start against Swansea City, but what I found even more surprising was his excuse that he had found out too late that the defender was available.
“Matip should have been straight into that team to handle Fernando Llorente — at 6ft 4in he is the same size as the Swansea striker and taller than the two centre backs, Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren, whom Klopp picked.”
