Liverpool dominates shortlist for player of the year award

Posted September 04, 2020 7:00 am

The Associated Press

Liverpool players stand on the pitch during the penalty shootout during the English FA Community Shield soccer match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Wembley stadium in London, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020. (Andrew Couldridge/Pool via AP) The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - Liverpool dominated the six-man shortlist for English soccer's player of the year award on Friday as the Premier League champions look to deliver a winner for the third straight season.

Virgil van Dijk, the center back who won the award last season, was joined on the list by teammates Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson and Sadio ManÃ©. Henderson has already been voted soccer writers' player of the year for the 2019-20 season.

Manchester City players Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling complete the shortlist for the Professional Footballers' Association award. The winner will be announced on Tuesday.

City has never had a winner despite being winning four Premier League titles since 2012.

De Bruyne looks to have the best chance of ending Liverpool's run after scoring 13 goals and getting a record-tying 20 assists.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was player of the year for the 2018-19 season, just ahead of De Bruyne. Salah didn't make this year's nominees, and neither did Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, the Premier League's top scorer last season with 23 goals.

There is a similar split for the women's award, with four players from Women's Super League champion Chelsea on the shortlist: Beth England, Sophie Ingle, Guro Reiten and Ji So-Yun. Arsenal players Vivianne Miedema and Kim Little are the other nominees.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne, left, is challenged by Lyon's Jason Denayer during the Champions League quarterfinal soccer match between Lyon and Manchester City at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. (Miguel A. Lopes/Pool via AP) The Associated Press

Manchester City's Raheem Sterling gets in a shot during the Champions League quarterfinal soccer match between Lyon and Manchester City at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. (Miguel A. Lopes/Pool via AP) The Associated Press

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