Thierry Henry has hailed Liverpool duo Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho by stating they ‘calm everyone down’ out on the pitch, as he told Amazon Prime.
The Premier League legend added that players like Trent Alexander-Arnold are more ‘secure’ out on the pitch for Liverpool, as a result.
More so with Van Dijk, whenever the ice-cool Dutchman is out of the XI, then it’s very visible in the manner in which Liverpool perform.
The likes of Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson still bomb forward, but just like at Tottenham or even last season, they find themselves more exposed at the back.
Either way, a huge part of Liverpool’s defensive success in recent years has been the presence of Van Dijk and Fabinho.
And Henry praised both players for what they bring to the table for the Merseyside giants.
“One important thing with Van Dijk is that he calms everybody down,” said Henry.
“When you are in a difficult situation, with also Fabinho, they calm people down.
“Alexander-Arnold is more secure when those guys are there. He is more confident about staying higher. The same with Robertson or Tsimikas.
“But that’s what they do, they calm everyone down.”
On Tuesday night, Liverpool had the calmness, but not the ruthless nature in front of goal as they were beaten at Leicester City.
Despite Mo Salah’s first-half penalty being saved, the Reds still couldn’t do enough to see off a resilient and well-drilled Brendan Rodgers side.
That makes their trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday even more important now in the race for the Premier League title.
Chelsea dropped points once again yesterday, with Danny Welbeck scoring a stoppage-time equaliser, but Manchester City marched on by beating Brentford 1-0 and opened up an eight-point gap on their rivals.
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