5 reasons Liverpool will finish the job against Manchester City
By David Gate
No. 3 – The Great Wall of Holland
Liverpool have had a handful of results this season where our heads have gone; the Tottenham Hotspur debacle; Arsenal away; and Sevilla twice. All of those were in 2017. Liverpool broke their transfer record on January 1st to sign Virgil van Dijk for £75 million from Southampton – a world record for a defender.
Eyes were popping all over the world for the size of that transfer fee. Now eyes are firmly back in sockets as the Dutchman has proven himself worth every penny.
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The difference he has made is hard to quantify. Clearly we have more clean sheets and less goals conceded but it his leadership has been as important as any tackle or clearance.
There has been notable improvement in the three players nearest to him on the pitch – Dejan Lovren, Andy Robertson and Loris Karius. All of those players have had a boost of confidence from having the colossus of van Dijk next them.
Sergio Aguero has been in a thorn in Liverpool’s side for seasons. However this is the first time we have gone into a game with City confident that we have a defender who can handle him. City have to score four goals on the night. Is Virgil letting anyone score four against us? Not likely.