Jamie Carragher has hailed Virgil van Dijk as the Liverpool player who has really impressed him this season.
The Holland international has started all nine of the Merseyside giants’ Premier League and Champions League fixtures and been a key man in their impressive start to the campaign.
Asked who has really stood out for Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s Premier League showdown against Manchester City at Anfield, Carragher told the Sky Sports website: “Virgil van Dijk. I think Liverpool look really solid, and they have since he came in. Opposition teams now look at Liverpool and they don’t see that weakness defensively they’ve seen before in Klopp’s team.
“The front three, who have been absolute superstars for Liverpool, aren’t quite firing the way they were last season. I’m sure that will come in the coming weeks and months but certainly, at the other end of the pitch, they’re doing their job.”
OPINION
A few Liverpool players have had hit and miss starts to the campaign, most notably the holy trinity of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, as well as skipper Jordan Henderson. But one player who has been outstanding in every match he has played is Van Dijk. The giant Dutchman, who “smells lovely” but is a nightmare to play against according to Troy Deeney, has had most of his opponents for breakfast so far. Even in Liverpool’s most taxing assignments, against Chelsea last Saturday, Tottenham a few weeks back, and Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli in the Champions League, Van Dijk has purred as smoothly as a Rolls-Royce. He has quelled some top-class attackers with dominant defensive play, and launched attack after attack with radar-precise distribution. Van Dijk is a giant among defenders, and Liverpool will look to him to stand up and be counted against City’s outstanding forward line.