Liverpool won the Premier League at last in the 2019/20 season in what will go down as one of the most unusual years in English football history.
The Covid-19 pandemic postponed the season for three months as Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy behind closed doors with no fans able to attend the final matches of the season as Jurgen Klopp’s side ran away with the title with ease.
One of the key reasons behind Liverpool’s dominant run to the Premier League was the performances of Virgil van Dijk, with the Dutch defender in his prime and at the time potentially the best player in the world under Klopp.
And Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville now both agree on one thing about that Liverpool squad and Van Dijk’s role in it.
Liverpool would not have won the Premier League without Van Dijk
Speaking on Stick to Football, the two pundits agreed that Liverpool would not have won that Premier League title had Van Dijk been out injured, with the news this week that Manchester City will be without Rodri for the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL on Sunday against Arsenal.
With Liverpool literally experiencing this outcome with Van Dijk the next season in an infamous game against Everton, that campaign showed just how much the Reds relied on the Dutch defender, with the Anfield side only managing a top-four finish having won the league by a landslide a year before.
READ MORE: Everything to know on Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk from his tattoo to net worth
And for Carragher and Neville, Van Dijk is the one player you cannot take out of that title-winning team, with the former Southampton man simply too important to Liverpool’s plans in that season where history was made at last.
Carragher said when asked which player Liverpool could not have survived with: “I would say Van Dijk. I just think he was so far ahead of everyone else,” with Nevill following up with: “I think I would go with the goalkeeper or Van Dijk. The goalkeeper is massive, he’s huge, he makes so many big saves for you.”
Liverpool would not be where they are today without Van Dijk
Van Dijk will go down as a Liverpool legend once the Dutch defender calls time on his career at Anfield, with the signing of the centre-back arguably one of the key moments in the Reds becoming who they are today.
Liverpool and Van Dijk were a match made in heaven with the former Celtic and Southampton star adapting to life at Anfield like a duck to wear, with the defender still regarded as one of the best in the world even after an ACL injury and a relative drop off from his peak during the Premier League winning season.
Indeed, Liverpool would simply not be where they are today if it was not for Van Dijk, and the title-win in 2020 would not have happened if the Dutch defender was signed when he was for the Reds under Klopp.
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