Joel Matip Comments on Diego Costa Ahead of Chelsea vs. Liverpool

Liverpool defender Joel Matip has insisted he will not try to provoke Chelsea striker Diego Costa when the two sides face off in the Premier League on Friday and said he doesn’t “give a f–k” if any Blues players try to get a rise from him. 

The Cameroon international also revealed he is planning to miss out on the Africa Cup of Nations in January in order to focus on settling in at Liverpool.

Signed from Schalke by Reds manager Jurgen Klopp over the summer, centre-back Matip, 25, will face an in-form Costa at Stamford Bridge—he has scored four times in four games at the start of the new season.

The Spaniard remains as combative as ever and has a history of clashing with opposition defenders, but Matip said he will not engage with any Chelsea players who try to rile him, per Chris Bascombe in the Telegraph:

If an opponent tries to talk to me during the game, really, I don’t give a f–k. They can say what they want.

I don’t think anyone is like Costa. You can play against players who like to make you uncomfortable, but not too many with his size or as famous as him.

It is always a fight against these big teams and you have to take on the …

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