Virgil van Dijk returned to his old stomping ground last night as we beat Southampton 3-1 with two stunning, late goals to keep our title charge at top whack.
After the game, Gary Neville was full of praise for the colossal Dutchman and told Sky Sports that he has to the favourite for this season’s Player of the Year.
Gary Neville on Virgil van Dijk: “I’ve not seen a central defender as good as him for a long time. His passing is a joke. He passes the ball like a midfielder. 100% Player of the Year for me, nobody else gets close to him.”
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) April 5, 2019
Of course Neville is right to single him out – the 27-year-old is in absolutely ridiculous form at the moment and the stats don’t lie.
Virgil van Dijk vs Southampton
94% passing
65/69 passes
7 aerial duels
2 interceptions
8 clearances🤫 the boo boys pic.twitter.com/0SY2J019ic
— LFC Stats (@LFCData) April 5, 2019
The Dutch defender is indisputably world-class and fully deserves to win the award come the end of the season. If even G Nev thinks so, then it proves just how incredible a player Van Dijk really is.
Van Dijk led the side out in the absence of late goalscorer Jordan Henderson; interestingly, of the nine games he has started as captain for the Reds, we’ve won every single one of them.
“There isn’t anybody close to him” @GNev2 has made his shout for the Premier League player of the year…
Watch now live on Sky Sports PL pic.twitter.com/dMT0pGzPIe
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 5, 2019
Mo Salah was the recipient of last year’s Player of the Year award – if justice is served, and Van Dijk picks it up this year, it will be back-to-back Reds picking up the individual honour.
Watch more: (Video) Ecstatic Salah beams during interview & winds up Hendo after Match Winning goal