Virgil van Dijk’s start to the season, according to Jamie Carragher, has been vastly underappreciated.
Van Dijk had a dismal season last season, with many wondering if the 32-year-old had truly reached his peak.
But, happily, Virgil appears to have re-energized this effort. Taking over as captain from Jordan Henderson seemed to have benefited him. And it appears that Reds legend Jamie Carragher agreed in his editorial for The Telegraph today.
“For Liverpool to be title challengers this season, Virgil van Dijk must re-establish himself as the team’s figurehead,” says the expert.
The good news for Jurgen Klopp is that he is doing so. Aside from a poor performance against Newcastle United, Van Dijk’s form has been an underappreciated aspect of Liverpool’s promising start.
“It was a timely response because Van Dijk has to silence doubters for the first time in his Anfield career.”
“By his standards, the previous 12 months were abysmal.” But we must not lose sight of how exceptionally high those requirements are.”
Aside from the Newcastle red card, we’d say that Van Dijk has had one other huge blemish on his record this season.
His pass to Alexis MacAllister versus Brighton was incredibly short. It put the Argentine under pressure and unintentionally allowed the Seagulls to take the lead.
Aside from those two instances, Virgil has been excellent. The responsibility of captaincy seemed to bring out the best in him.
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