I thought that was Xabi Alonso?
I don't think tackling is a quality. Tackling is a last resort, and you will need it, but it isn't a quality to aspire to.
It seems the thread has been reduced to "are last ditch tackles worth bothering with or not?". Of course they are if that's the only option left but the point is that it wasn't the only option left for Virgil. We're judging his decision by the outcome but on many other occasions him standing up like he did will result in a weak shot that doesn't lead to a goal.
We're constantly denied by sprawling tackles and blocks but they're done in a crowded penalty area where the defender can always rely on a teammate filling the gap left by them diving in. Last night Elliott put about three Palace players on their backsides in that first half but there were still at least two more standing in the way and one of them made a standing block on his goal-bound shot.
I'm sure we've all seen the meme video touted by Man U fans of when Martial put Virgil on his backside and scored against Southampton. That wasn't necessarily the wrong choice by Virgil in that moment either but differing choices and both ended up with the ball in the net. Such is the life of a defender.
On the Maldini quote I don't think it's saying you should just give up, it's more saying there's been a failure somewhere that you're in that situation. Last night that failure was Fabinho getting turned too easily and Phillips playing Zaha onside (Virgil was playing him off).
