Virgil van Dijk | Performances

He's good, but in the biggest match of the season where we need him the most, he's let us down, & is frankly getting outplayed by a youth academy product & a bargain bin signing from Hull :lol: I just have my fingers crossed his stupidity won't cost us the game.
 
I only watch Liverpool in their biggest games and while he looks great defending the box from crosses and is decent at passing, he makes major errors in every game I see.
 
Tbf he was fouled (right as he kicked it). But feck knows why he stopped playing before that, and hes been shambolic since.
 
He's good, but in the biggest match of the season where we need him the most, he's let us down, & is frankly getting outplayed by a youth academy product & a bargain bin signing from Hull :lol: I just have my fingers crossed his stupidity won't cost us the game.
Arnold has been sensational over three halves vs City now. Really impressive, despite his name which makes me think of a 70 year old bus driver (for some reason :wenger:)
 
Arnold has been sensational over three halves vs City now. Really impressive, despite his name which makes me think of a 70 year old bus driver (for some reason :wenger:)

Makes me think "Hey, football head!" but that's just me :D But yeah, neither of our CBs are having a great night.
 
Arnold has been sensational over three halves vs City now. Really impressive, despite his name which makes me think of a 70 year old bus driver (for some reason :wenger:)

Calling him doing a Rafael against Bayern in this second half though.
 
Arnold has been sensational over three halves vs City now. Really impressive, despite his name which makes me think of a 70 year old bus driver (for some reason :wenger:)

Really? I think he's been a weak link in the first half tonight and Sane has been terrorising him down that flank. I think there's worse yet to come, too...
 
Can't believe I'm saying it, but Lovren has been much better in this tie so far. Hopefully, he can feck it up also, so we can laugh at both.
 
Really? I think he's been a weak link in the first half tonight and Sane has been terrorising him down that flank. I think there's worse yet to come, too...
Yeah, he’s been good imo. Sané is in fine form so he won’t keep him quiet the whole match. Thought he did a good job following a lot of the over-laps, which is an area our dear Valencia is driving me crazy on his best days.
 
Struggled in that first half but was fine in the second.

He has some bad attributes he needs to get out of his system. He stopped playing in the build up for the City goal.
 
He will continue to have blunders like this. Klopp loves a quarterback-like center back who is their playmaker and therefore always a bit more prone to brainfarts than your average defender. Good player though who is extremely important for their setup.
 
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To be fair he's solved Liverpool's old weakness from defending set pieces. He dominates the box better than Smalling does.

He's certainly the dominant centre back we've been missing for a few years. Since the 3-2 home defeat to West Brom in the FA Cup, only United & Spurs have breached our defence more than once, & we've kept 8 clean sheets in the last 13 competitive matches. You know he's making an impact because the sounds of "Liverpool will win nowt with that defence", are not quite as audible as they once were.
 
He's improved our team immensely. Bad mistake to not play to the whistle after being fouled, but was fine besides that.

The fact that we conceded one goal in 180 minutes due to one player not playing to the whistle against a city side that scores goals for fun is not going to register on here as reflecting any kind of improvement in our defence though.
 
He's improved our team immensely. Bad mistake to not play to the whistle after being fouled, but was fine besides that.

The fact that we conceded one goal in 180 minutes due to one player not playing to the whistle against a city side that scores goals for fun is not going to register on here as reflecting any kind of improvement in our defence though.

You also conceded two legal goals which were wrongly ruled offside for some reason, so let's not get into hyperbole too much.
 
He's improved our team immensely. Bad mistake to not play to the whistle after being fouled, but was fine besides that.

The fact that we conceded one goal in 180 minutes due to one player not playing to the whistle against a city side that scores goals for fun is not going to register on here as reflecting any kind of improvement in our defence though.

It is not just on this thread but, some here seem to think that top defenders never ever make mistakes.
 
Having said that he's definetely improved Liverpool's defence. They're far more resilient with him.
 
He's improved our team immensely. Bad mistake to not play to the whistle after being fouled, but was fine besides that.

The fact that we conceded one goal in 180 minutes due to one player not playing to the whistle against a city side that scores goals for fun is not going to register on here as reflecting any kind of improvement in our defence though.
Was he? I thought there was nothing in it.
You also conceded two legal goals which were wrongly ruled offside for some reason, so let's not get into hyperbole too much.
One was Sane's, my memory fails me, what was the second, ?
 
Tbf he was fouled (right as he kicked it). But feck knows why he stopped playing before that, and hes been shambolic since.

He would partially fouled (it could've gone 50-50) by a player who about half his body weight.
I think it was Sterling (?) who pushed him off the ball like he was a boy.
How can someone so big, be so weak. Or perhaps it's a balance issue?
In any case, his team won the match, so his error didn't cost them, this time.
 
He would partially fouled (it could've gone 50-50) by a player who about half his body weight.
I think it was Sterling (?) who pushed him off the ball like he was a boy.
How can someone so big, be so weak. Or perhaps it's a balance issue?
In any case, his team won the match, so his error didn't cost them, this time.

Because defenders dive and exaggerate contact to draw fouls more than attackers do.
 
To be fair he's solved Liverpool's old weakness from defending set pieces. He dominates the box better than Smalling does.

Totally agree, I can actually feel the difference he's made, as in, that feeling of dread when a team got a corner or set piece against us has now completely gone.

There's no way 2016/17 Liverpool would have weathered the City pressure in the 2nd half of the 1st leg and the 1st half of the second without capitulating
 
He's the perfect signing. He improves them enough to stop them looking for anyone else, but hes never going to be forming another Hansen/Thompson-like partnership.
 
He has improved them, a mistake here and there wont make this disappear. They are just stable at the back. I was hoping Jose would snatch him up when people made these threads about CBs, but he went for the Swede instead
 
been immense for us, hard system to play in but everyone around him as well as himself are playing much better. Key piece in the back 5 jigsaw . Now the midfield...
 
The typical "ball playing CB" everyone seems to want us to sign. Good on the ball, makes mistakes defensively. Thats what you get. I dont know of a "ball playing CB" thats great defensively. You get one or the other.
 
Best centre back by a mile in the league. Not a £75m player but worth every penny to Liverpool’s team imo. Wish we had signed him regardless that price as he’s as guaranteed to be a success as anyone around. Missed trick by us I think.
 
I rate Virgil.

I just really want him to do well, so we have another top centre back though.

And with we I mean Holland, not Liverpool.

Also, in his defense, I think playing the position in the kamikaze type system Klopp uses takes some getting used to. He's bound to make mistakes, but his composure on the ball and immense aerial presence alone make him a great player imo.

Not 75million great?

Well, Davy Klaassen cost 27 million and he's absolutely shite. Real Madrid signed a toddler for 45 million. Money means very little in this silly market.