Virgil Van Dijk: Statistics prove that Vincent Kompany was better than Virgil Van Dijk at their prime.
Virgil Van Dijk is currently enjoying an exceptional campaign with Liverpool having cut down the leakage of goals at the backline. The Dutch International has done well to earn commendation for his displays since joining Liverpool, and his encomium proves his distinctiveness among other players. His prominent presence for Liverpool has helped him earn the PFA Player of the year.
It was not a long ago until Liverpool shelled out a massive £75 million for Virgil Van Dijk. By securing his services from Southampton, the Reds could be on the course to reach the Champions League finals for the second time in two years after stabilizing the backline from January 2018. Besides, he has made them go toe-to-toe with the best ever Premier League side ever. Manchester City are captained by the Belgian International Vincent Kompany, who is currently spending his 11th year with the club.
The 33-year-old has been one of the best defenders over the last decade, but the recent seasons have been injury ploughed. During the management of Roberto Mancini, Vincent Kompany was hitting his prime and was regarded as one of the best defenders in the world despite regressing a lot in recent years.
Vincent Kompany was the linchpin under the former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini. The Italian International was given a huge lump of money to win the league title, but it took time for the Citizens to achieve the owner’s ambition. The English outfit sent an alarm to every club in the country by finishing third in the league table.
The Citizens Skipper was part of the ride and helped them guide to Champions League Qualification for the first time in numerous decades. The English outfit conceded 33 goals, but Kompany’s stats were absolutely phenomenal, in fact bettering Virgil Van Dijk’s current season.
Vincent Kompany Vs Virgil Van Dijk
Kompany in his Prime vs Van Dijk in his Prime. pic.twitter.com/J9HwB7O0rY
— RS7 (@saucysterling7) April 29, 2019
As visible in the stats column, Vincent Kompany made more tackles, interceptions, blocks, clearances, and headed clearances than Virgil Van Dijk. The main column is goals conceded, which the Dutch International is miles ahead of Vincent Kompany.
The numbers might not speak much, but the awareness of positioning and reading of the game are the main ingredients for a footballer. Virgil Van Dijk is blessed with both traits and he does not require full effort to shrug off the opponent attackers.
Apart from the individual brilliance, tactics plays a huge part in football as well. Roberto Mancini likes to defend deep and hit the opponents on the counter-attack. That move will automatically enable the defenders to work more to shut down the attackers.
On the other hand, Jurgen Klopp has imposed balanced play this season and Van Dijk’s positioning to cut down the counter attacks and win plenty of duels have been witnessed over the past few months. He and Alisson Becker are a step ahead of everybody and read the game to perfection.
If there was an evaluation for positioning sense and reading of the game, Virgil Van Dijk could pip Vincent Kompany.
