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A headlong tackle, a wince, a season-ending injury for Vigil Van Dijk. Suddenly, the atmosphere in Liverpool has changed dramatically.
The Reds’ central talisman requires surgery on the ACL injury he sustained in Saturday’s Merseyside Derby as a result of Jordan Pickford’s horror challenge in the early stages that surprisingly went unpunished.
With the transfer window closed until January, Jurgen Klopp has a defensive problem that he must have feared. Van Dijk has been around since his £ 75 million signing in January 2018, having played 93 consecutive Premier League games, and replacing him is a near impossible task.
He even started against Lincoln and Arsenal in the Carabao Cup this season – his durability and supreme fitness are as much a strength as his superiority and control at the rear.
Irreplaceable? Yes, without a doubt. Van Dijk won the UEFA Player of the Year award in 2019, as well as the PFA Player of the Year award. Respected by viewers and his fellow players, his influence on the Klopp giant over the past three years has been monumental.
And now that? Until the opportunity to bring in new players in the New Year arises again, Liverpool will face 17 games in 10 weeks and, in the short term, six games in 18 days, starting with a trip to Amsterdam on Wednesday to face Ajax as champions. . The league returns this week.
It’s a schedule made even more grueling by the absence of Van Dijk. Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are now the only high-level center-backs on the first-team squad, with Fabinho, who played admirably in defense against Chelsea last month, an alternative away from his usual role in defensive midfield.
On the sidelines, Nat Phillips, Rhys Williams and Billy Koumetio could also play a role in the coming months, if not early on, perhaps from the bench.
However, now, without their quiet Dutch presence alongside them, Gomez and Matip will have to learn to play alongside each other, and fast.
Surprisingly, despite being at the club for more than four years together and starting 21 matches together, the pair have never started a match together in the middle.
Before Van Dijk’s arrival, Dejan Lovren was actually the man most used at the heart of defense. Gomez was also often used as a right back in Klopp’s early years.
Now, however, the £ 11 million Croatian’s departure to Zenit St Petersburg in the summer seems like a rash decision. Or rather, the lack of a booster seems even more puzzling.
Yet in Gomez and Matip, the Liverpool manager knows he has two players in the prime of their careers who are now needed to show their abundance of quality more than ever.
Gomez, who was used as a makeshift winger for the early part of his Anfield career, emerged as Van Dijk’s regular partner last season, with Matip injured for a long period.
Fast, dominant from the air and confident on the ball, Gomez made his England debut in November 2017 when he became a trusted first-team player for his club.
It was at the start of the 2018-19 season that Gomez really impressed for the first time, albeit in his favorite center position, with his consistency only restricted by a cruel leg fracture suffered against Burnley in December.
He missed virtually the remainder of the season after requiring surgery, but entered as a late substitute in the final 2019 Champions League win against Tottenham.
However, Gomez’s injury gave Matip a long-term opportunity to shine alongside Van Dijk that season and, like the man he replaced, Matip did his thing.
The Cameroonian was as dependable as Van Dijk and gained a number of fans as the Reds pushed Manchester City all the way in the race for the Premier League title and won on the European stage.
Indeed, in the Champions League final in which Van Dijk was named man of the match, you could say that Matip played a decisive role, especially considering that he scored the goal from Divock Origi that secured the trophy for the final.
But, like Gomez, Matip has had his injury problems. His 2019-20 season was plagued with injuries as he took three different blows at different times of the season.
Now, with Van Dijk long gone, that situation cannot afford to repeat itself. Rather, both Gomez and Van Dijk need to establish a partnership and go to work amid busy schedules.
Easier said than done. Gomez was arguably his worst performance in a Liverpool jersey when he last started, in the surprising 7-2 loss at Aston Villa before the international break, while Matip only made his first start after a long-term injury. against Everton on Saturday after four months. outside.
One is short of form, one is short of fitness – Matip did require a scan after Saturday’s derby, but no major issues were detected.
However, in the long run, who will switch to play on the left side? Who will take responsibility in terms of leadership? Are both compatible together without the colossal Van Dijk alongside them?
These are all questions that will be the focus of attention, probably for the rest of the season. And it’s no exaggeration to say that the answers to those questions could well define Liverpool’s season.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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