Virgil van Dijk has been getting close to his best form for Liverpool this season after a rocky 2022/23 by his own lofty standards, and he again proved why he’s one of the world’s best defenders during the 3-0 win over Brentford on Sunday.
On the pitch, the Netherlands international marshalled Liverpool’s backline with the efficiency of a continental railway, instantly tightening a previously leaky rearguard and helping the Reds achieve immortality at home and in Europe.
Despite the comfortable nature of the scoreline, the Bees asked a few questions of the home side’s defence, and thankfully the Reds skipper was alert to one particularly dangerous attack in the final 15 minutes.
Christian Norgaard got his head to a corner kick and diverted the ball towards Neal Maupay at the far post.
A goal felt inevitable, arriving with the slight sadness of a deflated souffle to the home fans inside Anfield. But Van Dijk was in the perfect position to avert danger and rescue his team with a dainty flick of his right leg.
The ball was catapulted towards the Irish Sea. The sanctity of Alisson’s net was maintained. Van Dijk smiled and received high-fives from his team-mates.
It was one of four that the Dutchman made this afternoon, along with two blocks, three tackles and a whopping 10 duels won as he kept Brentford at bay with a titanic defensive performance (Sofascore).
The broad smile from the 32-year-old as he reacted to that moment illustrated just how much pride he places in the art of defending!
Besides defense stat, the ability that Van Dijk has that is almost different from all current center backs is his ability to pass the ball. In the match against Brentford, he had 10/10 Accurate long balls and 6 Passes into the final third.
Van Dijk’s classy long pass was intended for Salah, but unfortunately the Egyptian star could not take advantage of it
Van Dijk at his best is easily the best central defender on the planet, and Liverpool are now starting to see shades of that player yet again in their backline.
The 32-year-old has been incredible at times this season, and Van Dijk’s performance against Brentford was one of the best Liverpool fans have seen this campaign from the defender.
With an international break now here, supporters will be excited to see Van Dijk return to Merseyside later this month, where Manchester City now await the Premier League title challengers.