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Published 10:56 10 Apr 2023 BST
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"Really poor defending. Liverpool not at it. No intensity. Jesus standing in the middle of the box. Van Dijk's ball watching. There's no pressure on the ball. Far too easy for Arsenal. I bet he can't believe his luck. "Robertson's efforts to get back - you've got to do better than that. Liverpool's defending is like a pub team. They're all over the place. They are a mess."Keane was not the only person pointing out some creaks in van Dijk's game, with many noting the Dutchman has not been the same since his Achilles injury in October 2020. When he returned to action, the following season, he said, "My point of view, knowing my own body, [is that] obviously there are plenty of things to improve but I am not a robot. I cannot be back to 100% immediately." The concern many have is that van Dijk's game has been altered forever by his Achilles injury, and that he may never fully return to his towering best. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher rode to the 32-year-old's defence after a day of criticism of, and speculation about, van Dijk. [caption id="attachment_275904" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Jamie Carragher pictured with Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool in 2019. (Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)[/caption]
'Virgil van Dijk is far better than Vidic, who was a top centre-back, but have you forgot his performances against Fernando Torres? 'Rio & JT had poor seasons in their career like all players, VVD is having one now. No CB in the Premier League era has ever had VVD’s impact on a team.' 'Never mind the best CB in the league,' Carragher added, 'he’s been the best player in the league along with Kevin de Bruyne for four years before this one. We have never spoken about about other CB’s being the best player before, that shows the level he was at.'https://twitter.com/Carra23/status/1645339553237028864 There was a strong argument that Virgil van Dijk could be put up against the likes of John Terry, Vincent Kompany, Nemanja Matic and Rio Ferdinand as the Premier League's best defender, but his peak could well have been that 2017 to 2020 period before he was injured. Carragher's argument does fall down by bringing John Terry's name into it, as the former Chelsea captain was, like van Dijk, voted by his peers as PFA Player of the Year when he was in his prime. Others will always bring up trophy counts when 'best ever' debates are ongoing. Van Dijk's biggest honours are a Premier and Champions League win while Terry has five league titles and a Champions League to his name, as does Vidic, while Ferdinand has an extra Premier League winners' medal. Kompany won four league titles when he was at Manchester City. Related articles:
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