Virgil van Dijk might have been able to stop pretty much everyone in the Premier League but last year he proved just how much of a step up it is trying to stop Lionel Messi.
No matter what stats you look at it's obvious that Virgil van Dijk had an incredible 2018-19 season in defence for Liverpool and his PFA Players' Player of the Year award, the first for a defender in 14 years, was well deserved.
Last May Van Dijk was going to have to be on top form as Liverpool travelled to Barcelona to face the Catalan giants in the Champions League semi-final.
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Facing Barcelona means facing Lionel Messi and there's virtually no defender, no matter how good, who can keep him quiet for very long.
The six time Ballon d'Or winner scored the 599th and 600th goals of his Barca career as the hosts won 3-0 against Jurgen Klopp's side.
However even before his goals one moment showed how difficult a task it is to tame Messi as Van Dijk screamed to his teammates for help:
It doesn't matter who you are, or how good you are, Messi catches up with you eventually.
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To paraphrase Thanos, 'Dread it. Run from it. Messi arrives all the same,' something Van Dijk now knows all too well.
Featured Image Credit: BT SportTopics: Liverpool, Football News, Football, REds, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Virgil Van Dijk, Champions League, Barca
