[ad_1]
It is not simply Liverpool followers who’re thrilled to welcome again the Reds’ talisman, Virgil van Dijk, after 285 days out of the sport.
The Anfield employees are additionally purring over the person James Milner described because the Rolls Royce of defenders.
However in pre-season it has been Van Dijk’s attacking risk that has caught the attention of the coaches – and it was on present as he returned to match motion within the 4-3 pleasant defeat by Hertha Berlin final Thursday.
Whereas the Dutchman brings stability to Liverpool’s again line, it is his skill to propel his staff forwards that may energy Liverpool again into competition for the Premier League title this season.
Virgil van Dijk returned to motion towards Hertha Berlin and performed an element within the Reds’ third purpose
And it’s vital that assistant supervisor Pepijn Lijnders has picked out the offensive facet of the defender’s sport in pre-season.
Lijnders has marvelled on the high quality of Van Dijk’s passing through the staff’s retreat in Salzburg, as they ready for final week’s check towards Hertha, which noticed the 30-year-old take the sector within the 69th minute.
‘Simply now, I used to be strolling off the pitch after this morning’s session pondering the standard and velocity of passes have been excellent,’ Lijnders instructed the membership web site forward of the match.
‘Virgil discovered Milner one time with a “shock” cross by the centre in behind… we stopped the train there! All the time ending on a excessive! Haha, I adore it!’
‘High quality and velocity’ have been too usually lacking final season in Van Dijk’s absence. Assaults grew to become predictable, with passing ponderous by midfield and Sadio Mane, specifically, discovered himself too usually shackled by deep-set defences when the ball lastly arrived
Examine that to the coaching floor cross that performed in Milner and thrilled Lijnders: Trademark Van Dijk.
It was the Dutchman’s extraordinary skill to hit pinpoint lengthy vary passes that put Liverpool on the entrance foot en-route to the title in 2019-20, serving to to ship 85 targets within the Premier League, in comparison with simply 68 final time round.
It’s no coincidence that the Rolls Royce was below restore with a critical knee damage for all however 5 Premier League matches final time period, after he was cruelly reduce down by a reckless problem from Everton and England goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, on October 17, 2020.
Within the title-winning season, Van Dijk’s was within the prime one % of centre-backs throughout Europe for lengthy passes accomplished, managing virtually 16 per sport at a completion charge of 79.2 per cent, and thru balls.
He was additionally in an elite group for switch-passes. However Van Dijk doesn’t simply spray the soccer backward and forward. He performs with function
A preferred problem to defenders and midfield gamers laid down by coaches within the fashionable sport is, ‘are you able to play ahead?’ With Van Dijk the reply is commonly emphatically, ‘sure’.
It’s no shock he’s within the prime 10 per cent of European defenders for ahead passes in direction of the opponent’s purpose and passes into the ultimate third of the pitch.
The 30-year-old Dutchman (centre) featured for 21 minutes and performed an element at each ends
Assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders (left) and Jurgen Klopp have been impressed with Van Dijk
What these statistics appear to be on the sector are laser-like balls in behind opposition full-backs, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson working free, excessive and vast.
Or, Mo Salah and Mane amassing possession one-on-one with defenders on the sting of the opponent’s penalty space, whereas opposition midfield gamers are nonetheless within the early levels of their restoration runs.
The standard and velocity of the passes, which is what excites Lijnders, implies that Liverpool can damage groups every time their opponents dare to emerge from a low block.
Van Dijk’s prowess for hitting lengthy passes can launch Liverpool’s assaults right away. Usually he searches for Trent Alexander-Arnold or Andy Robertson in vast positions, who look to cross early, taking the Reds into the opponent’s penalty space in two passes, bypassing defensive midfield gamers.
The results of these correct bombs is chaos of their opponent’s final line as defenders and midfielders desperately scramble to reorganise.
The result is extra likelihood is created. Amongst centre backs, Van Dijk was additionally within the prime 10 per cent of gamers for goal-creating actions in 2019-20. And this was no flash within the pan, both. He hit related numbers for these metrics in 2018-19.
Even on his return, Van Dijk was concerned in Liverpool’s third purpose when he gained an unlikely header within the Hertha field, forcing an error from the German goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow, earlier than Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hit house.
In brief, he does plenty of injury and creates the circumstances wherein others can flourish. And naturally, as Liverpool headed in direction of the title a yr in the past, he chipped in with an help and 5 targets of his personal.
Different favorite targets for Van Dijk are Mo Salah and Sadio Mane in excessive, vast positions. On this instance towards Arsenal, Van Dijk evades the press with a super-accurate cross to Salah, who has remoted the defender one-on-one. From right here Liverpool can break the Gunners’ defensive position for an opportunity in behind.
Maybe Mane has probably the most to realize from Van Dijk’s return. He suffered from his staff mate’s lengthy absence final season, netting 11 instances within the prime flight, in contrast 18 the yr earlier than when within the common firm of the Dutch grasp.
The ever-dependable Salah nonetheless managed 22 Premier League targets final season, up from 18 the yr earlier than, however curiously solely half the variety of assists, which given the slowed construct up permitting defences to regain form and composure is unsurprising.
It’s telling that an evaluation of Van Dijk’s sport by the analysts, Ai Abacus, reveals he’s rated greater for cross completion, progressive passes, construct up play and passing vary than he’s for his tackling and defending in one-vs-one conditions.
That snapshot serves to underline Van Dijk’s significance to Liverpool’s offensive risk.
Klopp was all smiles through the pre-season pleasant in Austria as his centre backs returned
Analysts Ai Abacus have rated Van Dijk’s qualities and he’s sturdy defensively and offensively
After all, Van Dijk is an outstanding defender, too. The statistics additionally reveal he’s virtually peerless in his aerial skill, counter urgent and aggression and he isn’t dangerous in a deal with both.
Jurgen Klopp has insisted he can be cautious with the Rolls, notably through the early a part of the season. The defender’s tumble within the lead as much as Berlin’s fourth purpose confirmed he has some work to do after such a protracted layoff, however the boss likes what he’s seeing.
‘He appears to be like actually good in coaching,’ Klopp mentioned on the membership web site. ‘In case you see the video games now as a part of their rehab coaching, that is sensible.’
As soon as absolutely match, Van Dijk may very well be the distinction for Liverpool this season, at each ends of the pitch, and he’s wanting ahead to it.
‘285 days in the past, I began on a journey again in direction of taking part in,’ Van Dijk mentioned after the sport towards Berlin. ‘It is laborious to specific how I’m feeling, but it surely’s necessary to me that I say I really feel blessed to have had the assist of so many unimaginable folks.
‘The work does not cease now. It is solely simply beginning. We hold going!’
[ad_2]
Source link
