Virgil van Dijk made a huge impression in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. The defender of Liverpool did not give up an inch against Internazionale (0-2 win) and also asserted himself in an attacking sense with a head assist. Van Dijk is widely praised in the English press for his formidable performance. “A masterclass in defense”, headlines de Daily Mail†
“He makes it look like it is effortless and has more than earned the Man of the Match award for his performance tonight,” writes Liam Bekker, who follows Liverpool as a journalist. “Virgil van Dijk is currently on a completely different level. It is an art to be so calm and composed, but at the same time dominant in every intervention.” Van Dijk blew the British press away with a specific defensive move. Lautaro Martínez found him so intimidating that he didn’t even go face-to-face with Van Dijk. Liverpool Echo at a moment in the fortieth minute, when Martínez suddenly only had to pass Van Dijk. “But Martínez simply acknowledged his defeat, didn’t even try to get past it and played the ball to the side.”
Van Dijk makes defending look ridiculously easy.pic.twitter.com/K5gpmBbUmt
— ryan (@6Thiagoat) February 17, 2022
Also James Martin from Liverpool.com enjoyed that ‘key moment in the game’. Mind you, Martínez is a cunning striker, who is regularly associated with an extremely expensive top transfer; add to that the pressure the home crowd at the Giuseppe Meazza puts on Van Dijk. Yet all this seemed irrelevant when Martínez searched in vain for a route along the Dutch colossus, which magically reduced the hectares of open green space around him. It is typical of Van Dijk, who resolves a threatening one-on-one situation as if it were a routine job.”
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp already indicated on Saturday after the victory at Burnley (0-1) that Van Dijk is completely back to his old level. The the Dutch captain returned in May last year from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. “Not everyone agreed with Klopp, but Van Dijk’s performance against Inter proves the manager’s final right,” the statement said. Liverpool Echo† “Van Dijk at his best”, fills James Martin van Liverpool.com at. “Tonight the Dutchman destroyed all doubts of critics: he is back again.”
Virgil van Dijk wins a header against Edin Dzeko.
Van Dijk embarrassed Paolo Di Canio with his sovereign performance, writes, among other things, The Mirror† The flamboyant former attacker had previously said in the Italian media that Dzeko ‘would exploit Van Dijk’s weaknesses’. Di Canio no longer called Van Dijk “the same player” as before the tearing of his cruciate ligament, from which the defender has been recovering since May 2021. Van Dijk let his feet speak on Wednesday, says The Mirror: “A typical all-dominant performance by the Dutchman.” Also Neil Jones from GOAL sees that Van Dijk is completely back. “It seems as if he has found an extra gear in recent weeks,” said the journalist. “Great to see and it was also expected that he would need some time after such a serious injury.”
Response from Van Dijk
Van Dijk himself emphasized after the game that it is not as easy as it seems. “We also expected that we would be under pressure, because this is the Champions League,” the 30-year-old international told BT Sport† “We discussed before the game that we had to be prepared to suffer. A clean sheet is very important and we succeeded. It was hard, we suffered, but we are very happy with the result. It was a very good performance.”