VIRGIL van Dijk’s brilliant performances at centre half for Liverpool mean eyes are naturally drawn to how he plays – with the bias always falling on the side of positivity.
The Dutchman is the current favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, edging out Lionel Messi in the betting. He’s been that good over the past year or so, as his manager Jurgen Klopp underlined to the media post Crystal Palace.
Van Dijk’s consistently high scores match to match, week to week, mean that when those rare mistakes or misjudgments that are inevitable in the centre half position arrive, most shrug their shoulders and move on.
It’s not held against him. It’s not over-analysed. Brains are wired to expect brilliance when it comes to the £75million defender.
For Dejan Lovren, it’s the complete opposite. With 177 appearances in red compared to van Dijk’s 91, fans have had almost double the time to assess what they think of him as a Liverpool player.
These three faces accurately depict a good portion of our fanbase’s confidence in Lovren’s defending pic.twitter.com/8Kv9AN2qCz
— (@MaebyKate) November 24, 2019
And his legacy is littered with black marks that still colour opinion.
While the cognitive wheels trot out only positives about big Virgil, it’s not so pretty for the other centre half plucked from Southampton, that time for a £20million fee in the summer of 2014.
After five years on the books at Anfield, there are now entrenched Lovren camps.
Some have witnessed a brain fart too many from the number six to trust him to perform. Others will go to war on his worthiness no matter what. Even when he has played well, fault will be found.
It can be difficult to fight it when the brain is hardwired for threat and negativity.
Right now, though, Lovren deserves praise for his recent performances. Against Crystal Palace, on a tough afternoon at the office for Liverpool, he stood firm and his statistics on the day back that up.
The Croatian international contested more battles for the ball than his centre half partner at Selhurst Park, winning three of four ground duels and eight of 11 aerial duels.
It also highlights another issue for Lovren, or anyone else that lines up alongside Van Dijk, be it Joel Matip or Joe Gomez. Teams will always target what they perceive as the weaker link.
And right now for Liverpool at the back, that likely means more work for Lovren and Trent Alexander-Arnold, than van Dijk and Andy Robertson.
In the Premier League this season, Lovren has completed 90 minutes against Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
Liverpool have won all five games, ticking off some of the toughest tests in the process, and Lovren has not committed an error leading to a goal that so many associate his name with.
Across the five games, he has won 72 per cent of his duels and has been booked only once. He’s been the solid seven out of 10 that so many managers would love at the centre of their defence.
Away from the facts and figures, Lovren also deserves credit for how he has handled a potentially testing personal situation.
In the summer it was obvious that the 30-year-old was behind van Dijk, Gomez and Matip in the race for a starting spot at the heart of the defence.
It was made fairly clear there was a price Liverpool would sell at, while the player himself seemed set on leaving. Roma and AC Milan were among the clubs interested.
Then the situation shifted, the transfer window closed, and Lovren was asked to crack on.
He has since done just that – and with a minimum of fuss, despite his previous want to seek employment elsewhere.
Klopp’s man-management plays a part in all that. The manager seems to have a unique knack of keeping everyone happy whether they are in or out of the first team. Dissenting voices are ultra-rare in his reign. The culture at the club appears to be second to none.
But Lovren has not only accepted his lot, he has also stepped up at a crucial time and performed to a consistently high level when Liverpool needed him most; a level worthy of praise. And a level not always associated with his time at Anfield.
Lovren said back in September: “Yes, I did consider moving. I wanted to leave, but it didn't happen, I was told Liverpool needs me and I accepted that.
“I feel very happy because all the time I felt Liverpool was by me. I respect that a lot. Klopp told me 'listen, buddy, you are a top-class player. We will not let you go on loan. We need you'.”
Klopp was right about that. Liverpool did need him. And Lovren has defied the doubters.
It may well be that come the summer he still wishes to move on for regular football.
But with Matip still sidelined with injury and fitness issues, and Gomez struggling for form – not to mention the relentless flurry of fixtures on the horizon – the manager will likely come knocking for more of the same from Lovren very soon.
Perhaps, like the manager has given him, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
