Virgil van Dijk is having a season to forget, but Jamie Carragher has leapt to his defence, saying it is just a dip for a player who has been one of the best in the Premier League for years and is ‘miles better’ than Manchester United hero Nemanja Vidic.
Liverpool are having a really poor campaign, sitting eighth in the Premier League table after their 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
A big part of their problem has been an under-performing defence, with Van Dijk at the heart of it and struggling to find anything like his best form.
Carragher accepts the Dutchman has been poor, but is prepared to give him a lot of slack given how good he has been in recent seasons.
The former England defender reckons he has been up there with Kevin De Bruyne as the Premier League’s best player and is far superior to former United centre-back Vidic.
‘VVD is far better than Vidic, who was a top CB [centre-back], but have you forgot his performances against [Fernando] Torres?’ Carragher wrote on Twitter.
‘Rio [Ferdinand] & JT [John Terry] had poor seasons in their career like all players, VVD is having one now.
He added: ‘No CB in the Premier League era has ever had VVD’s impact on a team.
‘Never mind the best CB in the league, he’s been the best player in the league along with KDB [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.’
Replying to someone questioning his Vidic comparison, Carragher wrote: If you or anyone thinks Vidic is better than VVD you’re not watching the same game! He’s miles better!!’
Asked which departments Van Dijk is better than the Serbian was, Carragher began to answer before descending into a Monty Python gag.
He replied: ‘Passing, pace, in the air, 1v1 defending, the roads, sanitation, the aqueduct……’
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