Virgil van Dijk was a crucial element of Liverpool’s Champions League winning side. External Link, FPL Scout's club review: Expect price rises for top Liverpool picks. If reading on skysports.com, comment below to get involved in the debate, but please adhere to our House Rules. Height: 1,93 m. Position: Centre-Back . It is also interesting to note that Van Dijk struggled to progress the ball into the final third against Manchester United in the 3-1 win, but achieved 100% completion in a fairly turgid 0-0 draw. This article will hopefully go some way to uncovering the performance trends throughout the season, as well as shining some light on who could be the Robin to his Batman as his centre-back partner. It is not difficult to see why he is the bookmakers' favourite. He even scored their second goal in last week's last-16 win over Bayern Munich. His advanced passing position comes as a result of Palace dropping deep and surrendering possession as they registered 33% possession. Van Dijk has hardly put a foot wrong and the statistics prove it. Netherlands. A look at his percentage completions in both defensive duels and aerial duels shows him to be one of the most dominant centre-backs in the league and the most dominant at Liverpool. He's playing against some of the top players in European football in the Premier League, but everything is so easy.". It is worth noting that Lovren appears to play forward most regularly, could this pairing provide Liverpool with the partnership most conducive to building play from the back? Borussia Dortmund have been an exhilarating outfit since their tactical change to a 3-4-3 formation earlier in the 2019/20 season. In order to do so, we will be looking at his aerial performance and passing performance; both areas he has excelled in. My TM . The £75m transfer fee Liverpool paid Southampton last January was deemed steep by some at the time, but Van Dijk has justified it emphatically. Van Dijk showed his class throughout the campaign, is now considered the world's best centre-back and became the first defender to win the PFA Player of the Year award in over a decade. We can couple this information with the eye test and derive that Van Dijk has brought an ability to play raking passes which allow Liverpool to switch play effectively. Stats have put Virgil van Dijk's 2018/19 Premier League season into perspective. This can be viewed in contrast with Lovren who ranks above average in half of the games in which they are partnered, and four of 11 next to Gomez. As well as this, there is a clear trend in a small number of long balls to the right wing. Thomas Meunier at Borussia Dortmund 2019/20 – scout report, Victor Osimhen at Napoli 2019/20 – scout report.