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#2 Virgil Van Dijk
An absolute warrior in the heart of their defence, Virgil van Dijk was colossal for Liverpool last season. The Dutchman's inclusion has given Liverpool's defence the solidity and stability that they were yearning for in 2017/18. The defensive stats for Liverpool improved heavily.
No player including Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo could dribble past van Dijk for a streak of 65 games. The streak was recently broken by Gabriel Jesus in the FA Community Shield.
Van Dijk is a sharp player and hardly dives into tackles. He hardly makes tackles and his count for tackle per game was a measly 0.7 in UCL last season. He wins 2/3 tackles that he actually makes. Also, his interception count stood at 0.8 per game.
In terms of duels, he averages 4.8 duels per game out of which he won about 64%, with over 3 being aerial duels. Not only defending, Van Dijk scored away at Bayern Munich and also delivered the lobbed ball over the infield to Mane for the first goal.
Having already won the PFA Player of the Season award and being in the FIFA The Best shortlist, Van Dijk is a heavy favourite to win UEFA Men's Player of the Season too.
