ROCK AND AWE
THIS weekend will mark 12 months since Virgil van Dijk made his Premier League debut for Liverpool... and in that time he has transformed the club.
In the last year no defender has kept more clean sheets in English football and no team in the big leagues in Europe has conceded fewer goals.
Only Paris Saintgermain, dominating the French league, can match Liverpool’s total of 10.
But there are even more incredible statistics that illustrate just how far Jurgen Klopp’s side have improved since the arrival of the centre-half for a world-record £75million, a fee questioned at the time but widely commended now.
Last season, the Reds managed just a single 1-0 victory but this season they have five already.
And on just one occasion all season have they failed to collect three points after taking the lead – a 1-1 draw at Arsenal the only blot.
Van Dijk (right with Klopp) leads the Premier League in many of the defensive statistics, but perhaps his most impressive feat is the fact he has yet to be dribbled past by any opponent throughout the 2018-19 season – for club or country.
It is no wonder that even the greatest Anfield defenders of all believe there is another legend in the making as the Dutchman develops into one of the most commanding centre-backs in world football.
Phil Thompson was captain of the greatest Reds defence of all, the 1978-79 title-winning side that conceded just 16 goals in 42 matches – still an all-time record.
And he believes the presence of Van Dijk has allowed Liverpool to become a very different team from the one which last season scored for fun but which looked so rocky at the back.
“The defence has been excellent, and Van Dijk has been the constant in that,” Thompson said.
“They look in control, and you sense the front three are thinking: ‘We don’t have to score three or four in the first half. We can actually rely upon this back four and this goalkeeper to bail us out at times. We are alright now.’”
Thompson has always been an admirer of Van Dijk, even in his Celtic days, and he believes he has answered the questions that were raised when he first joined Liverpool for that worldrecord fee.
The former Reds skipper said when the Holland star arrived he wanted him to become more of an organiser while also improving his concentration when stepping out of defence with the ball.
And he believes Van Dijk has done exactly that, as the improved form of Joe Gomez, Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip alongside him testifies.
“I was lucky enough to be part of the defence which conceded only 16 goals in 1978-79,” said Thompson, “and the one thing we were so hungry for was clean sheets.
“This team seems to have that. Van Dijk has developed this season, no doubt. He’s a better organiser and that has come with a little bit of experience. He is more aware now and is a leader out there.
“He has a presence, which is important, and he is definitely developing as a leader.”
For manager Klopp, the most exciting thing of all about Van Dijk is that the first year is just the start.
The German said of his big defender: “He has outstanding potential, is physically strong, and has all the technical things you need. So many things were already good and many things he can improve.
“There is a lot more to come.”
The prospect must be frightening for
Premier
League strikers.