TALKS TACTICS VAN DIJK MUST DO MORE OF THE DIRTY WORK TO STOP LIVERPOOL’ S SLIDE
Virgil Van Dijk is one of the best central defenders the Premier league has seen. But perhaps in only praising him and not addressing his shortcomings in the more traditional, even basic, elements of defending, we have been contributing to the slow death of the old-school centre half.
There is an obsession with ball-playing centre backs today and Van Dijk is one of the best in that sense, but we cannot lose sight of the fundamentals of defending.
Van Dijk carries a calm aura, built up over his successful seasons at liverpool. But when it comes down to it in the penalty box, it is do or die. The danger must be read and reacted to, or you pay. There are lots of reasons why liverpool have fallen short of their previous incredible standards and the blame cannot be solely laid at one player’s door. Collectively last season, liverpool were the best pressing team in Europe. The front three was their first line of defence and the trigger was Sadio Mane, a workaholic who pressed for fun with infectious energy. The statistics show liverpool ranked first in the league for possession won high up the pitch. now they rank 11th, having sold Mane and lost key players to injuries. Without that high press winning them the ball back, liverpool have been forced to do much more work in and around their own penalty box. This is relatively new for Van Dijk, as previously he was used to most of the defending being done in front of him and marshalled the defence on the halfway line. He remains a beautiful passer of the ball. indeed, no Premier league defender has managed
more passes than him this season. He is still one of the best at dealing with balls over the top thanks to his pace, which will help against Tottenham tomorrow, and he continues to pose a threat in the opposition box, with only Brentford’s Ben Mee having had more headed attempts at goal. He is certainly a master in so many categories. But one area in which Van Dijk has been lacking is in his blocks. In high-danger situations, he chooses to stand his ground. There are examples this season when Van Dijk has stood still like a statue, hoping his big frame is enough to stop the shot, when his instinct should be to smother his opponent and block the ball. Since the first game of the season, when he conceded a penalty to Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic, Van Dijk has looked reluctant to engage with his opponent. Just one week later in Liverpool’s second game, in a one against one with Wilfried Zaha, Van Dijk did not go across. Instead, he ran alongside Zaha and all that did was give the Crystal Palace man an easy pathway to score.
By the time Liverpool reached their third game of the season, James Milner was screaming at Van Dijk for not closing down
Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho as he opened the scoring. Explaining the argument after that 2-1 loss, boss Jurgen Klopp said: ‘There was only one player who tried to block it, let me say it like this. I saw Millie try. There was not a lot of help around.’ It seemed like the problem had gone away after an outstanding performance against Manchester City when both Van Dijk and Joe Gomez came up to the ball and smothered Erling Haaland. But these defensive issues were apparent again last week when time stood still as Crysencio Summerville scored Leeds’ winner at Anfield. Van Dijk is a
Rolls-Royce of a player whose smooth style has perhaps rubbed off on Gomez, with both of them elegant.
But they need to be tough and rough at times. Go after the ball. Risk being beaten, but allow time for your team-mate to come back and cover you. Do more of the dirty work required to be a complete central defender.
This is a small adjustment for someone like Van Dijk. If he can add this element to his game, then he can truly be considered the best Premier League defender ever and Liverpool will quickly climb that table.