Liverpool travelled to London last night to take on Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace in their second game of the season and their first away trip. Goals from James Milner and Sadio Mane gave them a 2-0 win in the capital but it was the defensive dominance of Virgil van Dijk that has had the fans buzzing.
A dominant display from @VirgilvDijk.
Last night’s @carlsberg Man of the Match. pic.twitter.com/VQiNgIUlcl
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) 21 August 2018
Since van Dijk made his record-breaking move from Southampton to Liverpool he’s gone from strength to strength. The Anfield club have looked so much more assured at the back and look like a side that is capable of winning the Premier League, as opposed to one that will be caught in a dogfight for a top-four finish as they have been in previous years.
This season marks their first full season with the Dutchman at the club and the fact that they also added Alisson Becker to their ranks over the summer makes them even more of a contender. Plenty of fans and pundits are expecting this season to a two-horse race between Manchester City and Liverpool and if van Dijk can do what he did against Palace in the remaining 36 games this season then it should almost be plain sailing for the Kopites.
You can read the Reds’ verdict on van Dijk’s man of the match display here:
Deserved
— ً (@FutboINaby) 21 August 2018
One of the best in his position …. Well deserved @VirgilvDijk ,Hope more and more
— Mohamed Elsayad (@Mohamed36620010) 21 August 2018
Absolute monster performance last night. Gomez looking more comfortable as well.
— Arms Of Atlas FC (@Arms_Of_Atlas) 21 August 2018
I have watched so many games like that where we either lose or draw. Huge result this!
— Sir_Mike (@mychael_says) 21 August 2018
Best cb in the league
— Liverpool fc fan!! (@danielmechen2) 21 August 2018
He deserves to take this. Only Klopp’s bidding players dominated all the matches
— Ijaz Qadir (@ijaz_thaha) 21 August 2018
300million headers won vs benteke alone
— REMW (@rauidri) 21 August 2018
https://twitter.com/Nteraman/status/1031789717275205632
The supporters are loving having van Dijk at the back and they all feel a lot more secure now than they did this time last season.
