Playing for 90
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Early season Liverpool player power rankings

By Chad Dingman

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool celebrates his team's victory following the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Selhurst Park on October 29, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Jurgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool celebrates his team's victory following the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Selhurst Park on October 29, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images) /
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SWANSEA, WALES – OCTOBER 01: Liverpool player Dejan Lovren (l) is challenged by Jay Fulton of Swansea during the Premier League match between Swansea City and Liverpool at Liberty Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
SWANSEA, WALES – OCTOBER 01: Liverpool player Dejan Lovren (l) is challenged by Jay Fulton of Swansea during the Premier League match between Swansea City and Liverpool at Liberty Stadium on October 1, 2016 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /

8. Dejan Lovren

And here is the other half of the controversial center back pairing. One thing that shows just how tough it is to judge the success of a center back is that there are people who think Lovren is one of the best in the Premier League, and there are some who think he’s one of the worst. Until we learn more about the correlation between individual success and stats like tackles, interceptions, clearances, and blocks, I can’t put too much stock in them. I couldn’t even estimate what those numbers look like for Lovren, and I am not going to look it up.

Lovren is elite on the ball and elite in the air. We know these things matter. His errors seem to stick out to people, and that may be the only negative thing I have to say about him. I think he has played well this season (though when he had played with Sakho, Liverpool was more resilient at the back) winning over 70% of his aerial duels and winning 4.5 of them per 90.

Whatever you think of Lovren, it has become clear that Jurgen Klopp trusts him, and that is all that matters. He is Liverpool’s #1 center back and will always be in the lineup when fit, and I think that more than anything gives you an idea about the quality of player Lovren is.

His season has been marred by a injuries and a few illnesses, but he has retained his spot in the starting XI when healthy. Any errors will have to be cut down, but Lovren has been mostly reliable this year, and he will be counted on to anchor the back line in front of the suspect goalkeeping.

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