The Champions League final will decide the Liverpool Player of the Year (POTY) for 2019. Four Reds are in contention before Saturday.
Liverpool’s season has come down to the final against Tottenham Hotspur. There was hope for the Premier League title, of course, but Manchester City put an end to that.
Instead, it’s Europe offering hope – yet again.
And as the season’s judgement hangs on the final, so does the club’s POTY. Depending on how the game goes, any of four players could be considered the season’s best.
Virgil van Dijk
Van Dijk will be a strong contender, no matter what happens. In fact, should Liverpool lose the Champions League final, he’ll surely be the POTY.
He’s revolutionised the defence and asserted himself as arguably the best defender in the world over the season. Van Dijk may be impossible to stop if he shuts out Harry Kane and co on way to lifting the trophy.
Mohamed Salah & Sadio Mane
The duo needs to be mentioned together as they’ve had such similar seasons. Nothing highlights that better than the fact they shared the Premier League Golden Boot (along with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang) with 22 goals each.
Victory on Saturday now largely comes down to one or both of them being on their game.
They’ve battled all season but a decisive goal or performance against Spurs and they may even out-muscle Van Dijk and become POTY. It would certainly be tough to look past them after such strong seasons.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Certainly a debatable choice but Alexander-Arnold has had a huge impact on the season. The 20-year-old set a new Premier League record for assists by a defender (12) to finish 3rd in the league.
The 4-0 win over Barcelona was largely in part to the full-back, too. His cross allowed Gini Wijnaldum to grab the second, while his genius corner provided the winner for Divock Origi.
He’s been consistent, decisive, and is constantly raising the bar. If he’s influential in the final, he may well be considered the defining POTY.
All four will almost certainly start against Spurs. We’ll just have to see who steps up to bring the cup back home.
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