‘Outstanding’: Virgil van Dijk seriously impressed with what he saw £80k-p/w Liverpool player do yesterday vs AC Milan

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Empire of the Kop

·18 September 2024

‘Outstanding’: Virgil van Dijk seriously impressed with what he saw £80k-p/w Liverpool player do yesterday vs AC Milan

Arne Slot can be pleased heading into the weekend after his Liverpool side overcame a major hurdle at the first time of asking.

A 1-0 home defeat suffered against a plucky Nottingham Forest outfit saw the first question marks raised around the Dutchman’s reign. Was this a sign of a great unravelling to come following Jurgen Klopp’s summer exit? Would the Merseysiders now come crashing back down to earth without their talismanic, Bill Shankly-esque figure at the helm?

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Nay. The visitors’ centre-back pairing, Virgil van Dijk and Ibou Konate, came to the rescue, capitalising on two set-pieces to drag Liverpool into the lead.

The No.4 was particularly keen to praise the ‘outstanding’ delivery on show from Kostas Tsimikas and Trent Alexander-Arnold in both instances.

“When there is a set-piece we try to be important. The delivery was outstanding in my opinion,” the 33-year-old was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

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Slot’s side now sits third in the Champions League table, behind to Aston Villa and Bayern Munich on superior goal differences.

Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas deserves praise for his recovery vs AC Milan

Kostas Tsimikas celebrates with Virgil van Dijk after setting up Liverpool’s second goal vs AC Milan – (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

To give credit where credit was due, the Greek international (on a reported £80,000-a-week, according to SalarySport) responded well to an early error that put the Reds on the back foot.

The former Olympiakos defender left huge swathes of space behind him unprotected after attempting to meet Mike Maignan’s lofted ball up the pitch. Christian Pulisic gleefully took advantage and handed the hosts an early lead in the first half.

Tsimikas registered one of the highest Sofascore ratings on the night (7.8) after creating one big chance, collecting an assist (for Van Dijk’s goal) and completing 94% of his passes (47/50) at the San Siro.

We’d expect to see Andy Robertson reinstated for our upcoming Premier League clash with Brentford, but our No.21 deserves some props for his recovery.

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