Why Jamie Carragher was right to highlight Virgil van Dijk as the No.1 defender in the Premier League

Since Virgil van Dijk joined Liverpool last January, Liverpool has kept more clean sheets than any other period during Jurgen Klopp’s first two-and-half seasons at the club.

The Dutch international has been a colossus at the back for the Reds and his defensive dominance and awareness has quickly turned peoples’ heads, quickly labelling the centre-back as one of the best defenders in the Premier League – if not the best.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane…

The almost 6ft 4in defender made a dream debut for Liverpool by scoring a late winner in front of the Kop to seal a 2-1 FA Cup third-round victory against Merseyside rivals Everton.

The dream-start Liverpool fans craved quickly faded with the news that Philippe Coutinho would be leaving the club the following day for FC Barcelona.

Liverpool’s 4-0 rout against Manchester City – a game van Dijk played no part of – had the fans in full voice again. Coutinho who?

Although, the mood was dampened by a sloppy defeat at the Liberty Stadium on Monday Night Football – van Dijk’s Premier League debut.

After the high of becoming the first team to beat last season’s league champions, this was as low as Liverpool had been all season.

Van Dijk had huge expectations to fill and even bigger gaps to plug – with barely any time to breath in an already leaky defensive structure.

The message was clear!

Help us Virgil van Dijk you’re our only hope… of fixing our inconsistency at the back it seemed.

That being said, the 27-year-old’s stats have been somewhat – to say the very least- absolutely unbelievable since the start of the year.

Jurgen Klopp has placed his faith in Joe Gomez alongside van Dijk

Speaking during Monday Night Football, Jamie Carragher said the defender could go down as a Liverpool legend if he stays on his current trajectory.

“I knew Van Dijk was a good player, but he is better than what I thought,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“We’ve always said Liverpool can’t win the Premier League because of their defence, but now they have Van Dijk, who I think is the best centre back in the Premier League.

“I can’t think of a defender off the top of my head that is better. He’s the man to step into the position Vincent Kompany has had over the last four seasons as that leader and colossus.

“They are very similar as players – there is nothing they lack. When Kompany was at his best three years ago, I didn’t think there was a centre-back that was better than him.

The former Liverpool vice-captain said van Dijk could be a difference maker in terms of Liverpool competing for major trophies.

“Over the next three or four years, if Liverpool could win a league or a Champions League, I think Van Dijk has the potential to actually go down alongside Alan Hansen if we’re talking about Liverpool’s best ever teams – that’s how good he is and how good he can become.

“If Liverpool under Klopp win something big, and Van Dijk is at the centre of it, he should be disappointed if he’s not alongside Hansen when people talk about the great Liverpool centre-backs.

“There isn’t another centre-back that ticks almost every box in terms of presence, pace, strength and ability on the ball.

“Normally a player has a couple of those, they are lacking somewhere else and their defensive partner will cover some of those areas. Van Dijk has all of them at the moment.
“Players and leaders like him have to be the ones that take Liverpool to something big. That’s when you’ll be remembered, when you win something big.”

Former Liverpool striker, John Aldridge said this week that van Dijk ‘is on another planet’ – insisting the centre-back is ‘capable of taking it all’.

While Gary Neville called the Dutch defender ‘a monster’ in defence.

Early indicators of van Dijk’s greatness

However, it is only when you look at the numbers that van Dijk has produced over the past seven months that you see how good he really is.

In the 23 games that Klopp’s men played without van Dijk last season, they conceded 28 goals, making a defensive combination of Lovern, Matip or Klaven the sixth best defence in the league.

The Reds defensive record changed significantly with the arrival of the former Southampton and Celtic defender – conceding 10 goals in 15 games.

Those numbers had Liverpool as the tied best defence in the Premier League by May. Bonkers, I know. Virgil van Dijk’s dominance personified.

He had played a huge role in the Anfield club conceding the fewest goals and having the least shots on target.

Only two errors have led to goals since van Dijk’s arrival – need I say more?

Virgil van Dijk has looked defensively sound at the back for Liverpool this season.

Silverware 

If you watched the game on Monday night and saw Sakho’s challenge on Mohammed Salah for the penalty– there is no clearer evidence needed to show why Liverpool fans should be excited with what they have in their back-four this season.

However, let’s be clear. Virgil van Dijk hasn’t made this change all by himself – with credit deserved right across the board.

Klopp’s decision to make widespread changes in Liverpool’s back four since last season 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur has made the Reds sinewy and reliable at the back.

That being said, it’s no coincidence van Dijk’s leadership skills – which earned him the captains armband for his native Holland – has been a revelation for Klopp’s defence.

Not afraid to question his teammates – van Dijk has without a doubt made Liverpool harder to beat.

The Reds have found themselves a centre-back for the next 10 years and they must capitalise on these moments if they are to reach the perch they were so unsparingly knocked off.

Silverware will be the measure of this defence – a Virgil van Dijk defence.

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Source: anfieldhq.com