You Bet | Strikers stealing the limelight but it’s defenders who are keeping Premier League’s top teams in the hunt

Who have been the key players of the English Premier League season? Many would name Eden Hazard and Diego Costa of Chelsea, Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal, Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool and Sergio Aguero of Manchester City. All have one thing in common: they are attacking players who bring flair and excitement in abundance.

That type of player tends to hog the headlines, as Sanchez did last weekend with his brilliant hat-trick in Arsenal’s 5-1 win at West Ham, capped by his impudent dummy before his third goal. It is easy to measure Sanchez’s impact with his 11 goals and four assists, as it is with Costa (11 goals, five assists), Aguero (10 goals, no assists), Hazard (eight goals, one assist) and Coutinho (five goals, five assists).

Yet there is another group of players who could have an influential role in this season’s title race without being so celebrated or feted by fans and pundits. One of them is Joel Matip, the Cameroon international centreback signed by Juergen Klopp for Liverpool in the summer.

Amid all the hype about Liverpool’s attacking prowess, Matip’s important role has been largely overlooked but it was thrown into sharper focus by last week’s collapse in the 4-3 defeat at Bournemouth.

Matip was absent from the starting line-up for only the third time in the Premier League, and it was the second time Liverpool had lost without him. They have conceded nine goals in those three matches, while having the same number of goals-against in the 11 matches he has started. Liverpool are unbeaten with him in the team, with eight wins and three draws.