Joe Matip has praised the ‘big influence’ of his Liverpool teammate Virgil Van Dijk, as he told Sky Sports News (09/12/21 at 9:25 pm).
The Liverpool centre-back is the regular partner of Van Dijk at the back and he spoke about the ‘big impact’ he has on the squad.
Before his injury, Van Dijk was regarded as one of the best defenders in world football and he is trying to get back to those levels again.
Whilst the cool-headed Dutchman is producing top-quality displays, it’s pretty obvious that he can reach much higher levels yet.
Given that Matip plays alongside him on a regular basis, he would know Van Dijk’s game inside out and he spoke about what he is like.
“He has a big influence,” said Matip. “He and all my teammates because of the quality of training and the quality of my teammates, with a player like him.
“They are lifting each other. You can learn a lot from him and you can improve.
“With the way he is playing, he has a big impact on the whole squad and he helps the man next to him.”
A lot of talk this season is about the free-scoring Liverpool steam train that is being led by the left foot of Mo Salah.
Liverpool’s front three – Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Salah – amongst others, have been outstanding in the final third and have been scoring for fun.
A big part of that is the balance and defensive quality that the likes of Van Dijk have brought back into the squad after last season’s injury-savaged campaign.
With the way Jurgen Klopp’s men are going, they would be backing themselves to put either the Premier League or the Champions League medal in their cabinets this term – or even both.
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