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Liverpool’s Premier League title defense got off to the most entertaining and fast-paced start against Leeds United on Saturday night.
A 4-3 win over the newly promoted showed that the Whites will not be simply picking up numbers this season as teams have previously done by ascending from the Championship.
Marcelo Bielsa’s implementation of a unique man-marking pressure system caused a variety of problems for Liverpool, who gave up their lead three times before Mohamed Salah finally sealed the win at the end.
The Egyptian will grab the headlines with an impressive hat-trick on the season opener. After missing out on the Golden Boot last season, Salah will be eager to get back to the top of the tree and help his team to another Premier League title.
However, Virgil van Dijk also made a vital contribution to the Reds by scoring a distinctive header in the first half and such a fine margin of victory highlights Liverpool’s advantage on set pieces.
Van Dijk, in particular, is excellent in aerial duels both in the back and in the attack corners, which he has shown in recent seasons. The 29-year-old scored five times last season, including a major double against Brighton and Hove Albion in November 2019, as well as goals against Manchester United and Newcastle United, all of which came in a header.
The superiority of the Dutch defender in the air is undoubtedly an area that Liverpool seek to exploit in conjunction with the delivery of high-quality plays from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson. On Saturday, for example, Van Dijk is practically the target from Liverpool’s nine corners, ultimately helping them to a hard-won victory.
Six goals in 2018/19 further bolster the case for saying that Van Dijk is one of Liverpool’s most powerful assets in set pieces and will be eager to build on his accounts from previous seasons this season.
On the other hand, conceding three goals on Saturday came as a result of some unusual errors on Liverpool’s bottom line, including a poor punt attempt that allowed Patrick Bamford to level the scores in the first half.
An interesting point to pick up, however, is that Leeds scored all three shots on goal that came from a cumulative expected goal (xG) value of 0.26, according to Infogol .
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What that essentially means is that Leeds outperformed significantly compared to the quality of the opportunities they received that day. On second thought, xG only offers a glimpse of how fortunes might change in the long run with statistical models predicting some kind of regression to average completion skills.
In a game full of tactical matchups and defensive mistakes, sometimes it’s best to just sit back and enjoy the chaos that ensued for 90 minutes. However, that’s perhaps easier for Liverpool fans to say in hindsight after finally securing all three points.
Ultimately, Salah’s hat-trick will be seen as one of the most important performances, but Van Dijk’s ability to score more or less indisputably on set pieces due to his aerial ability makes him a unique asset.
If delivery is perfect and Van Dijk is in the right area, there is very little that can prevent him from towering over challenging defenders on his way.
Premier League football comes down to very thin margins and Van Dijk offers that little extra in attack that other teams don’t have.
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