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Virgil van Dijk will miss most of the current season after sustaining an ACL injury in Saturday’s Merseyside derby.
Liverpool will have to do without the man whose signing in January 2018 acted as a sign that the Reds were serious and coming for the English crown of Manchester City.
It’s been almost three years since he was transferred from Southampton and he has racked up more than 70 consecutive Premier League starts, but his big setback at Goodison Park will prevent that number from rising further.
Jurgen Klopp will be well aware that his team will now suffer in several different departments, and Van Dijk’s passing is perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of his game.
After losing 3-1 to Liverpool several weeks ago, Mikel Arteta declared: “They have different weapons. When you go to the opposite side and do the high pressure perfectly, they have Van Dijk and he plays a 60-yard pass to Salah. chest and they’re out. That’s quality. “
The Arsenal manager praised the Dutchman’s tendency to make long diagonal passes; His switches can allow the Reds to go from stale possession to attack in an instant.
The moment opponents feel safe with Van Dijk and Joe Gomez playing simple passes away from goal, a long pass can take the Reds to the end of the field seconds later.
His contest pass network with the Gunners is shown below and offers an idea of how often he attempted the type of pass in question.
The Dutch international’s passing ability provided an answer for the Reds by building from behind.
If playing through midfield becomes difficult, instead of panicking or giving the ball away, Liverpool can use Van Dijk to almost bypass that area of the field by finding Mohamed Salah on the edge of the last third.
When Thiago Alcantara moved to Anfield, Pep Ljinders referred to him as a ‘solution’ and the same can be said for Van Dijk when it comes to what he brings to Liverpool’s offensive game.
Ljinders also referenced the need to remain unpredictable, stating: “From every position, we can play the last pass and speed up the game.”
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is set for a period on the sidelines due to an injury sustained during the Merseyside derby. Virgil will face surgery and a rehabilitation process before he can return for the Reds.
We will of course cover the story from start to finish, with all the updates, until van Dijk is back on the field in a Reds jersey.
Here’s how you can not only keep up with VVD’s journey back to first-team action, but how you can send your support to the recovering defender.
You can follow all of our VVD updates right here on your personalized player page, but if you want to receive all the updates (as well as the latest Reds news you need), you can subscribe to our Liverpool FC newsletter.
Subscribing is free and easy. Just type your email in the box at the top of the page. Here are more instructions if it is not clear.
Van Dijk, despite being a central defender, is one of those players who is capable of playing the last pass and posing a threat in possession despite spending most of his time in his own field.
Ultimately, it is reasonable to suggest that his teammates will miss his ballgame traits as much as his defensive prowess as Klopp tries to lead his players to the Premier League crown once again, but without his commanding presence.
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