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What's the story?
Tottenham Hotspur forward Lucas Moura has questioned the infamous stat claiming that no player was able to dribble past Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk last season.
The 26-year-old believes that someone must have dribbled past the Dutchman, claiming that if a player is past him, it is already a dribble.
In case you didn't know...
Van Dijk has emerged as one of the breakthrough performers of the 2018-19 season, having been a commanding presence at the centre of the Liverpool and Netherlands defence.
The 28-year-old helped the Reds maintain the meanest defence in the English top-flight, averaging 1 tackle and 5.2 clearances per league game.
One of the most mind-blowing stats to have been associated with the Dutch international is the sheer difficulty of dribbling past him. It has been said that not a single player was capable enough to dribble past the centre-back all season.
It has also been claimed that the only player to have successfully completed a dribble past the former Southampton defender was Manchester City's Leroy Sane on international duty with Germany in November last year.
Van Dijk's exploits have earned him the PFA Players' Player of the Year award as well as a place in the PFA Team of the Year and the Champions League Team of the Season. He is also heavily tipped for a maiden Ballon d'Or award at the end of the year.
The heart of the matter
Moura, whose side faced Liverpool in the Champions League final in Madrid, has expressed his doubts over the statistic, insisting that a player must have surely dribbled past the Liverpool star.
In an interview with Brazilian YouTube channel Desimpedidos, he said,
"Dude, now this question there I don’t know if it’s true. They say he hasn’t been dribbled past since… whatever. If the guy is past him, it’s already a dribble."
"I don’t know, but the guys must have gone past him now. I know I scored a goal against Liverpool, we lost, but I scored against Liverpool and he was left behind. But he’s great. He is."
Spurs' Champions League hero added,
"Hey, the guy’s good. He’s two metres tall, strong, and the Liverpool team is a very good fit, with a lot of chemistry."
"So he had an excellent season. He was elected the best in the Premier League, I think. In the world… there are a lot of people there. But for the season, I think he’s among the top three. Among the top three!"
What's next?
The Spurs are next scheduled to face Juventus in the International Champions Cup on July 21.
