Virgil van Dijk | Performances

It's true that VVD is more exposed than last season. But also true that he was better than this season. Maybe he had a freak season like Salah in 17/18 and will get back to normal levels of excellence, i.e. among the very good defenders but not clearly the best one.

In any case, the mistakes in both CL games (in which Liverpool conceded 5 goals!) might hurt his case for getting a Ballon d'Or ahead of Messi. Excellent defender but not a Messi of the defenders.
 
Treble said:
It's true that VVD is more exposed than last season. But also true that he was better than this season. Maybe he had a freak season like Salah in 17/18 and will get back to normal levels of excellence, i.e. among the very good defenders but not clearly the best one.

In any case, the mistakes in both CL games (in which Liverpool conceded 5 goals!) might hurt his case for getting a Ballon d'Or ahead of Messi. Excellent defender but not a Messi of the defenders.
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Which mistakes did he make yesterday? Genuine question, haven't seen the game

Btw i've seen a fair few games from multiple leagues and he's comfortably the best defender in the world right now that i've seen, by an even bigger margin than the end of last season actually...
 
giorno said:
Which mistakes did he make yesterday? Genuine question, haven't seen the game

Btw i've seen a fair few games from multiple leagues and he's comfortably the best defender in the world right now that i've seen, by an even bigger margin than the end of last season actually...
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You haven't watched him enough this season. He has beein dribbled past like 7-8 times this season after going some 50 games ormore without being dribbled past once. Fecking Burnley forwards dribbled past him twice. And has also played on side opposition attackers which suggests that his awareness is not that good right now.

He was partly responsible for both the 1st and the 3rd goals yesterday. And generally didn't look like a world beater at all, more like your good no nonsense PL CB, albeit even that might be a bit too much for his performance last night.
 
Treble said:
You haven't watched him enough this season. He has beein dribbled past like 7-8 times this season after going some 50 games ormore without being dribbled past once. Fecking Burnley forwards dribbled past him twice. And has also played on side opposition attackers which suggests that his awareness is not that good right now.

He was partly responsible for both the 1st and the 3rd goals yesterday. And generally didn't look like a world beater at all, more like your good no nonsense PL CB, albeit even that might be a bit too much for his performance last night.
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You're too hasty with your comments sometimes, he's the best cb and nothing's changed.
 
Treble said:
It's true that VVD is more exposed than last season. But also true that he was better than this season. Maybe he had a freak season like Salah in 17/18 and will get back to normal levels of excellence, i.e. among the very good defenders but not clearly the best one.

In any case, the mistakes in both CL games (in which Liverpool conceded 5 goals!) might hurt his case for getting a Ballon d'Or ahead of Messi. Excellent defender but not a Messi of the defenders.
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He literally is the messi of the defenders not in a career context but at the moment yes, he makes a mistake ok? Last time I Cheka Messi doesn't score all his chances? He's the Messi of defenders because he is better than everyone else in most facets of defending, he is still the most dominant cb in the league aerially this season, still the fastest, still has the best ball playing ability, Liverpool also still have the best defensive record in the league..
 
World class CB but can't see him hitting last season's heights. Poor game last night.
 
Treble said:
You haven't watched him enough this season. He has beein dribbled past like 7-8 times this season after going some 50 games ormore without being dribbled past once. Fecking Burnley forwards dribbled past him twice. And has also played on side opposition attackers which suggests that his awareness is not that good right now.

He was partly responsible for both the 1st and the 3rd goals yesterday. And generally didn't look like a world beater at all, more like your good no nonsense PL CB, albeit even that might be a bit too much for his performance last night.
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Think you're being harsh on him. He wasn't at his best last night but was MOTM against Sheffield United and still mostly maintains a high level.

We're playing higher up the pitch this season which invites more pressure on the back line. I think the whole team switched off yesterday for about 30 minutes as well, not just him.

On the third goal for Salzburg, shouldn't some of the blame be on Gomez for that one for not being aware of Haaland's run behind him? Those are the sort of channels Van Dijk normally picks up and deals with.
 
Treble said:
You haven't watched him enough this season. He has beein dribbled past like 7-8 times this season after going some 50 games ormore without being dribbled past once. Fecking Burnley forwards dribbled past him twice.
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So? Getting dribbled past a few times is a serious issue for a defender now? I mean, which defender never got dribbled past?

Last season was an aberration and had a lot to do with the way liverpool defended as a team. Same as him being dribbled past a bunch of times this season has a lot to do with the way liverpool are defending. The more aggressive you are the more likely you are to be beaten. Would be interesting to see in what situations he's getting beaten and what comes of it

And has also played on side opposition attackers which suggests that his awareness is not that good right now.
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Again, more to do with the way liverpool are defending than him. Also again, it happened to literally everyone ever

He was partly responsible for both the 1st
and the 3rd goals yesterday.
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He was partly at fault for two of barcelona's goals last season(in fact, i'd say suarez goal was more on him than any of salzburg's goals yesterday). Again, it happens

And generally didn't look like a world beater at all, more like your good no nonsense PL CB, albeit even that might be a bit too much for his performance last night.
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Everytime i've seen him he's looked very much like a world beater

You're just putting entirely unreasonable expectations on him. There's no defender ever who never made mistakes. He made a few mistakes himself last season
 
Righteous Steps said:
He literally is the messi of the defenders not in a career context but at the moment yes, he makes a mistake ok? Last time I Cheka Messi doesn't score all his chances? He's the Messi of defenders because he is better than everyone else in most facets of defending, he is still the most dominant cb in the league aerially this season, still the fastest, still has the best ball playing ability, Liverpool also still have the best defensive record in the league..
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Let’s not be silly.
 
He got the praise for their entire defensive effort last year, kind of hard to turn around and absolve him of blame when they look like they should concede 2 goals a game this season.
 
I’d say Varane is quicker than Van Dijk.

There are definitely better defenders on the ball as well. He’s actually overrated in that respect and a bit of a one trick pony. Still very good, but not some worldie ball player.

For the entire package though he’s the best CB in the world. He has no standout weaknesses.
 
cyberman said:
He got the praise for their entire defensive effort last year, kind of hard to turn around and absolve him of blame when they look like they should concede 2 goals a game this season.
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That has more to do with people overvalueing him last season though. Not that he wasn't a huge factor in their defensive effort, but defence is always a team effort, and coaching plays and especially big role in that aspect(compared to attack, which is more about individuals)
 
People in this forum are really trying way too hard to make Van Dijk look "not as good".

You know he's an elite level CB when the arguments you have against him is "his team conceded goals!", or "he got dribbled past a couple times, he's overrated!"

Kind of reminds me to the arguments people use against Messi. They are both so good that you start reading some really silly arguments.
 
VanKenny said:
People in this forum are really trying way too hard to make Van Dijk look "not as good".

You know he's an elite level CB when the arguments you have against him is "his team conceded goals!", or "he got dribbled past a couple times, he's overrated!"

Kind of reminds me to the arguments people use against Messi. They are both so good that you start reading some really silly arguments.
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Couldn't agree more. Guy is a beast, end of...
 
VanKenny said:
People in this forum are really trying way too hard to make Van Dijk look "not as good".

You know he's an elite level CB when the arguments you have against him is "his team conceded goals!", or "he got dribbled past a couple times, he's overrated!"

Kind of reminds me to the arguments people use against Messi. They are both so good that you start reading some really silly arguments.
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Absolutely! Total stud of a player.
 
Watching him I’m always surprised by his insane balance and agility for such a big man.

As a sunday league centerback, I often find it hard to play against tricky dribblers , and I’m only 188cm.

Van Dijk’s abiity to maintain balance and make an accurate standing tackle against the best forwards in the world is nothing short of phenomenal given his 1.94 com height and massive frame.
 
He’s been pretty gash this season to date. His best defensive attribute is the actually the six players who play ahead of him on the pitch. Their demonic, bum-rush pressing forces rabbit-in-the-headlights opposition players to boot the ball high and long to their attackers, balls which are meat and drink to van Dijk, who often enjoys a 6”+ height advantage over opponents. It’s actually impressive in its simplicity, as much as I hate to compliment anything Vermin-related. Take away that boundless energy in front of van Dijk and he’d be exposed far more often than he currently is.

Now, his defensive capabilities on the ground and his positioning at times, on the other hand...
 
Armchair Manager said:
I wont get into who is great defender or not but ramos and pique are over-rated defenders and dont belong in the list of greatest defenders ever. These clowns couldnt get world cup and euro winners spain out of the group stage of world cup. Carlos Puyol was the one who made them look good.

Pique has lost 3-0 first leg lead twice in period of two years in champions league. Ramos has conceded s**t load of goals in last 3 season. It was ronaldo who use to keep them in the games. If these two are as good as people make them to be then their clubs shouldnt have had such meltdowns.
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Depends on what overrated means to you. They have formed the core of a defence foundation that has won every trophy conceivable in their playing career.

The group stage mess wasn't down to Ramos and Pique only. The entire team had peaked and sort of lost motivation. Remember they were coming back from 3 consecutive International trophy wins.
 
Tostao_80 said:
You even had someone on here claiming he has better than the great Nesta, arguably the world's best centre back since Baresi.
Lets not knock him though, he's the best in the world at the mo, and clearly at that.
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Whoever said this should have charges placed on him and fines paid for breaking the law of unfair comparisons.
 
His form has dipped. Let's see whether it's temporary or he is returning to his normal level similarly to how Salah's form dipped after the 17/18 season to a more normal level of performances.
 
VanKenny said:
People in this forum are really trying way too hard to make Van Dijk look "not as good".

You know he's an elite level CB when the arguments you have against him is "his team conceded goals!", or "he got dribbled past a couple times, he's overrated!"

Kind of reminds me to the arguments people use against Messi. They are both so good that you start reading some really silly arguments.
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To be honest I have been guilty of that myself. The standards Van Dijk has set are so high and far beyond anyone else that people do go out of their way to "humanise" him where-ever possible. The fact is that, even with a few mistakes in him, he is by far the best centre back in the Premier League and would walk into any every top six defence and every defence in every top side in Europe.

Perhaps the best way to deal with the naysayers is to ask how many of them would have Van Dijk in their team. The answer is every one of them.
 
Kemizee said:
Depends on what overrated means to you. They have formed the core of a defence foundation that has won every trophy conceivable in their playing career.

The group stage mess wasn't down to Ramos and Pique only. The entire team had peaked and sort of lost motivation. Remember they were coming back from 3 consecutive International trophy wins.
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I dont think the whole team peaked. Remember Barca and Real Madrid many UCLs between them with their core of spainish players. I think what happened was that their playing style was found out by very intense pressing teams and they teams which were fine conceding possesion while keeping 10 behind the ball.

I am not saying Ramos and Pique are bad players infact they are very good but they aint as good of defenders as people make them. When you talk about Ramos, the first thing that comes to your mind is important goals or red cards or his ability to play from back. Now he does lots of hard sliding tackles and all but a good defender rarely slides into tackle because they are always in right position and takes away the ball from attackers as soon as they made mistake. I.e. VVD.

I think ramos and pique were looking good by presence of out and out defender that was puyol. Now puyol is somebody i will call a great defender.
 
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fastwalker said:
To be honest I have been guilty of that myself. The standards Van Dijk has set are so high and far beyond anyone else that people do go out of their way to "humanise" him where-ever possible. The fact is that, even with a few mistakes in him, he is by far the best centre back in the Premier League and would walk into any every top six defence and every defence in every top side in Europe.

Perhaps the best way to deal with the naysayers is to ask how many of them would have Van Dijk in their team. The answer is every one of them.
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Yes, people tend to do that with unique players, like Messi, CR7, and now Van Dijk. Basically looking for any little mistake they do or anything not perfect to pick at and try to bring them down. With Van Dijk its even worse because of the team he plays for and the form we are in right now.

Beckenbauer, Maldini, Baresi, Nesta etc are the kind of defenders people mention when they talk about the GOAT defender. Now, they all made mistakes on their playing career, they all conceded goals, they all mistimed tackles or fell on their asses or even scored own goals, plenty of them. Thats just football, even the best of the best can have bad games.

Now Vidic and Terry are the ones that are compared to Van Dijk the most, and i could find you dozens of goals where both of them completely fuked up and were the main cause their teams lost or conceded.

With those standards, pretty much every player in history is "not that good".
 
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Terry Vidic Nesta Maldini Ramos Puyol played at the top for more than a season before they were getting accolades and comparison to legends. VVD had only 1 good season.
 
kaiser1 said:
Terry Vidic Nesta Maldini Ramos Puyol played at the top for more than a season before they were getting accolades and comparison to legends. VVD had only 1 good season.
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17/18 was good for him too, his move in January to Liverpool had a clear impact on their defense and helped them to reach the CL final.
 
VorZakone said:
17/18 was good for him too, his move in January to Liverpool had a clear impact on their defense and helped them to reach the CL final.
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Still not as much time in comparison to the rest.
 
VorZakone said:
17/18 was good for him too, his move in January to Liverpool had a clear impact on their defense and helped them to reach the CL final.
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17/18 season was nothing compared to seasons these legends had. You know Liverpool conceded 10 goals in CL knockouts 17/18.
 
Buchan said:
He’s been pretty gash this season to date. His best defensive attribute is the actually the six players who play ahead of him on the pitch. Their demonic, bum-rush pressing forces rabbit-in-the-headlights opposition players to boot the ball high and long to their attackers, balls which are meat and drink to van Dijk, who often enjoys a 6”+ height advantage over opponents. It’s actually impressive in its simplicity, as much as I hate to compliment anything Vermin-related. Take away that boundless energy in front of van Dijk and he’d be exposed far more often than he currently is.

Now, his defensive capabilities on the ground and his positioning at times, on the other hand...
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Fair assessment. But regardless he is great for the system that Liverpool employ. Liverpool play a high line and he is the perfect player to manage that system. You have to be very good central defender to play as a CB for Liverpool. Someone like 80m Magiure would get merked multiple time a game playing for Liverpool. Whereas when VVD makes the odd mistake its national news.

Treble said:
His form has dipped. Let's see whether it's temporary or he is returning to his normal level similarly to how Salah's form dipped after the 17/18 season to a more normal level of performances.
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Also, Liverpool is playing with a slightly higher line this season which is saying something considering Liverpool played with a high line already. Also, I think he has established great telepathy with Matip last two Liverpool games without Matip he has looked a little uncomfortable. However against Sheff United away he was ine of the best players for me. I dont think his form has dipped as much as peole are saying, I noticed a lot of attacking teams actually trying harder to run at Liverpool defenders this year compared to before, he is probably experiencing more take ons than he ever had to, but even with that he is doing admirably.
 
Bit harsh to blame him alone for that Belarus goal. He had to cover two men there, Blind nowhere to be seen.
 
Doesn't really help him that Matthijs de Ligt has turned in to a Sunday league level player all of a sudden.
 
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