Come on Jurgen… He’s certainly helped, hasn’t he!?
And you didn’t spend £75m on him for no reason…
Liverpool’s manager has claimed that our improved defensive record since Virgil van Dijk’s January signing is not solely down to the Dutchman’s influence – but that of the entire team.
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(In fairness, Klopp has to say that, and he’s right to suggest van Dijk’s team-mates have played well too…)
“Has it been down to Virgil van Dijk? I don’t want to minimise Virgil’s influence but I don’t think it’s like that,” the manager told the official website.
“If you want to defend right then everybody needs to know what you do in each situation. Virgil’s influence is 100 per cent there for sure, but really I was never that unhappy with the others that I would say: ‘Now finally we can defend because Virgil is here.’
“It was just a good performance [against Watford]. Hendo around, Millie around, Gini was [tired] after 60 minutes but [his] first half was impressive.”
The fact is though that since the 3-2 defeat to West Brom, when van Dijk was still not fully match fit, we’ve conceded five goals in nine matches.
He’s the leader of our defence and we’d argue that the increased level of Loris Karius is largely down to his influence.
Van Dijk marshals the backline, wins his headers and orders calmness, while passing the ball excellently as well.
His superb performances have warranted the tag of the world’s most expensive defender, and we hope to see him continue at his current high level.
The matches with Manchester City will of course provide the hardest test yet, of course.