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The best defenders at stopping dribblers have been revealed and Virgil van Dijk doesn't feature

Home> Football

Updated 11:35 14 Mar 2024 GMTPublished 15:11 8 Jun 2023 GMT+1

The best defenders at stopping dribblers have been revealed and Virgil van Dijk doesn't feature

Van Dijk was once famed for not letting opponents dribble past him but the Liverpool centre back has been replaced.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Virgil van Dijk once stopped anyone dribbling past him for a long time but the Liverpool defender's lack of form has seen him drop from the top five list.

Back in 2019 it seemed that all anyone could think about was whether or not Liverpool's number one centre back was going to get dribbled past.

He went a ludicrous 64 matches without being beaten by someone running at him the ball, which basically seems like a made up stat.

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Even when he was eventually beaten by Gabriel Jesus it didn't count as the moment came in the Community Shield, considered an unofficial match.

Things haven't been as good as those heights for the Dutch defender in the past season and he's been on the end of plenty of criticism.

The nickname 'Van Disney' has been bandied about a few times over the campaign and he was left stumbling to the ground by Ivan Perisic a couple of months ago.

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None of that stopped Jamie Carragher claiming the former Southampton star was better than Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic, which many weren't convinced by.

And the numbers don't help back the 31-year-old up either as he's not in FBREF's list of the defenders in Europe best at tackling dribblers.

5. Sven Botman - Newcastle United: 22/28 = 78.6%

4. Eder Militao - Real Madrid: 26/33 = 78.8%

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3. Daniel Vivian - Athletic Bilbao: 36/45 = 80%

2. Kim Min-jae - Napoli: 25/29 = 86.2%

1. Aaron Wan-bissaka - Manchester United: 23/25 = 92%

Wan-Bissaka is a tough man to dribble past. Image: Alamy
Wan-Bissaka is a tough man to dribble past. Image: Alamy

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Certainly it's good news for United fans with Wan-Bissaka topping the list and continuing to prove that he's the best one-on-one right back around.

Certainly Leicester City star James Maddison believes that's the case, following the former Crystal Palace star's efforts in the FA Cup semi-final.

There could be more good news for Erik ten Hag's side when it comes to the second player on the list, Napoli defender Kim.

After helping his side win Serie A this season the 26-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer.

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Thay may well depend on United's ability to get rid of Harry Maguire in the transfer window as Ten Hag is likely to need to sell to boost his transfer kitty.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Aaron Wan Bissaka, Liverpool, Manchester United, Napoli, Newcastle United, Premier League, Virgil Van Dijk

Ryan Sidle
Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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@Sidler28

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