'Matip and Lovren have a good partnership going'
Liverpool's 0-0 draw with Southampton provided yet more evidence that Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren are forging a formidable central defensive partnership, according to John Aldridge.
Despite dominating across 90 minutes and carving out a number of big chances at St Mary's on Saturday, the Reds came away with just a point to show for their efforts after failing to breach their hosts' rearguard.
But manager Jürgen Klopp remained in good spirits at the final whistle, declaring himself pleased with the showing he had witnessed, even if the result was not as he might have liked.
And, writing in his latest column for the Liverpool Echo, Aldridge picked out two men who played a prominent role in the visitors securing a clean sheet on the south coast as his standout performers.
"Joel Matip has been excellent since he came to Liverpool and he was very good again on Saturday," he wrote.
"He just calms things down and is having a big influence. On the ball he is brilliant and in the air he is excellent.
"He and Lovren have got a good partnership going.
"Dejan got a hostile reception on Saturday but he ignored it. He played really well and that’s what you want to see. He has nothing to prove.
"Teams do what Southampton tried all the time - they used a defensive set up and tried to hit us on the break and take all three points. But we got a clean sheet and I thought we defended really well."
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Liverpool will hope to get back to winning ways this weekend when they return to Anfield to take on Sunderland.
David Moyes' team are three points from safety in the Premier League but have won their last two games and, for that reason, Aldridge is expecting a tough test.
"At the end of the season we will know if Liverpool have solved their problem of dropping points against the teams at the lower end of the table," the former No.8 added.
"I certainly hope they have but Sunderland travel to Anfield on the weekend on the back of two wins on the bounce.
"They will be revitalised and have a bit more belief so it won’t be as easy as perhaps it was a month or two ago.
"But we have just got to do what we’re good at."