Liverpool have been knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid and speaking after the game, Rio Ferdinand has explained why Virgil Van Dijk is very to be categorized as a legendary centre-back.
Madrid thrashed Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield in the first leg and the two-legged tie was over then and there. Everyone thought Liverpool would at least put up a fight at the Bernabeu but they ended up losing this match as well.
Van Dijk played in both legs and to be honest, the Netherlands international was one the worst performing defenders on the pitch. He had an average rating of 4.8 at Anfield and this week he got a rating of just 6.8 out of 10.
Ferdinand, who is currently a pundit has explained why Van Dijk cannot be put in the same bracket as players like Terry and Van Dijk.
Ferdinand told BT Sport(h/t Football 365): “There are phases in your career when things don’t go to plan.
“(But) you look at great centre-halves like Vidic, Kompany, Campbell, Terry, Jaap Stam they don’t have a season off or big periods like eight to nine games off.
“The form of the team plays a part though and it does have an impact and sometimes you’re as good as team around you.
“He hasn’t had the team performing in the way that suits his style of play.”
Is the Van Dijk aura slowly fading away?
When Virgil Van Dijk came to Liverpool, he was the best centre-back in the Premier League by a long shot and for one and a half seasons no one even came close to him.
However, one major injury has completely changed the scenario and since returning from that blow, the 31-year-old has not been the same.
This particular setback came in October 2020 when he ruptured his cruciate ligament and went on to miss 45 games for Liverpool. Since then, his career has been on the downslide and he’s not been able to regain his peak form.
He suffered a hamstring injury in January of this year and he’s again missed seven games.
With each passing injury, Van Dijk is losing his pace and because he’s already 31 years old things are not going to get any better.
Apart from the injury problem, Michael Owen also pointed out another major factor which has turned Van Dijk into an average centre-back.
The ex-forward has claimed that Liverpool’s disjointed and half-hearted pressing is a major cause of why Van Dijk’s frailties have been exposed.
He said: “When Liverpool are playing well you don’t have much to do (as a defender), they win the ball at the front.
“The problem is they leave themselves exposed (at the moment) so it’s a difficult position to play in if your team isn’t functioning well.
“It’s difficult at the moment because he’s getting exposed in one-vs-ones. If they are playing well you don’t even notice him and he just mops up everything.”
Apart from the injuries and the pressing issues, the most problematic factor has been that Van Dijk’s aura and reputation have completely faded away and sooner or later Jurgen Klopp will have to push him down the pecking order and rely on people like Konate and Joe Gomez.
