Jamie Carragher was left in awe of Virgil van Dijk following the Liverpool captain’s equaliser in the 4-1 win over Luton on Wednesday night.
The injury-plagued Reds were in a perilous position at half-time and in need of inspiration as the teams resumed after the interval, and the skipper duly led by example, drawing his team level in the 56th minute.
The Scouser was on punditry duty for CBS Sports alongside Micah Richards, who uploaded a clip of his colleague’s reaction to the Dutchman’s goal to his Instagram stories.
It left Carragher gushing: “You don’t need to analyse that. Look at the colossus, look at him, look at him! A marvel of modern science. He is the best centre-back the Premier League has ever seen, by a mile.”
Great captains galvanise their teammates in their hour of need, and Van Dijk did exactly that with his timely equaliser last night, sending Liverpool on their way to a comfortable victory which didn’t seem to be on the cards at half-time.
It was the 32-year-old’s third goal of the season and his 22nd overall in just over six years with the Reds (Transfermarkt), a decent tally for a centre-back and one which’d likely be even higher had he not missed almost the entire 2020/21 season through injury.
In addition to popping up with his fair share of goals, the Dutchman is also a colossal figure at the back, adding a solidity and assuredness to our defence and directing operations around him.
Liverpool might be shorn of numerous key players through injury right now, but so long as they have the inspirational Van Dijk leading by example, there’s every chance we could enjoy tangible success by the end of Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign in charge.
#Ep102 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️