Ballon Dor 2019: 3 reasons why Virgil Van Dijk should win the award

3. The new season is yet to see best of Van Dijk

There is a popular argument that Van Dijk has not been up to his last season’s brilliance and Liverpool is still conceding goals despite winning, accusing defence of losing its efficiency.

But, one has to consider that defensive setups work as a unit and a blunder by a single player can cost the whole team. Hence, it would be unfair to accuse Van Dijk absolutely for the leakage of goals.

Furthermore, a forward has many chances to show his individual brilliance in a particular match and a defender rarely comes forward. So, if a forward is having a poor match, then he can surely compensate with a goal or assist, eg: Messi’s goal last night.

But on the other side, a defender’s poor game can be fatal and give minimal chances are availed to turn up for the losses, apart from the indirect freekicks and corners, defenders rarely have a chance to score.

Furthermore, the season is yet to get into an advanced phase and from here Van Dijk is deemed to play an even more influential role. Meanwhile, Liverpool is having a great spell as a unit and Van Dijk should be awarded for his services.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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