Virgil van Dijk dominates Erling Haaland – Liverpool captain needs to get a new contract

Virgil van Dijk is so good that he makes Erling Haaland play more like his father Alfie.

When Manchester City’s superstar striker tries to swap shirts with his Liverpool nemesis after every meeting, he must have a masochistic streak that reminds him of harrowing experiences. Perhaps he plans to aim for the Liverpool No.4 shirt to get a feel for what it feels like to be close to the Dutch captain.

In back-to-back seasons at Anfield, this has been less a duel between the Premier League’s best defender and most prolific striker and more heavyweight versus flyweight. Haaland was reduced to the role of passenger in a bland attacking performance.

Given the caliber of the opposition, Van Dijk’s performance in Sunday’s 2-0 win was as flawless as anything he had shown in his first six years at Anfield.

There was only one blemish. When he backheeled to Kevin De Bruyne to give City one last chance to exploit Anfield nerves, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher had to be thanked. That was all that separated Liverpool’s captain from a 10/10 in the match rating.

Van Dijk has that in him at times – an attitude that gives the impression that the game is too easy and a trick or two is needed to give starved opponents some hope. As stupid and unnecessary as this gaffe was, it was symbolic of a footballer who is still at the peak of his powers and who, with every performance, screams at those who decide where he will play next season that they are the ones Maybe you should ignore the year on your birth certificate.

The contractual stalemate between Liverpool and Van Dijk continues to simmer, but the abundance of evidence this season will make it increasingly strange if no resolution is reached. If, as many suspect, the biggest sticking point is the length of the contract for a 33-year-old, the captain couldn’t offer more convincing evidence that he’s far from done this year, next year or the season after that. Those who crunch the numbers know they are taking a leap of faith and trying to look to the distant future, but even if Van Dijk’s powers wane by 25 percent by 2026, he will still be on par with most of his predecessors his in those decades when the club longed for the next Alan Hansen.

Liverpool’s analysis team is known, and rightly so, to want to exclude emotion from its decisions, but the arguments against such hesitation are never stronger than in the immediate aftermath of results and performances like this or against Real Madrid.

Football romantics have the right to argue that the gods of sport are trying to take a hint and guide the Anfield hierarchy to the only logical decision. It’s unimaginable that Van Dijk is entering a retirement phase when he’s playing so well, and his influence on the young defenders who will eventually follow him, like Jarell Quansah, is priceless. The same goes for Mohamed Salah, but history shows that defenders have longer lifespans. Hansen had to retire at the age of 34, but only after a long absence and a series of injuries. Van Dijk looks as good as he did before his knee operation four years ago.

On the pitch and sometimes off it, Van Dijk and Salah make more statements than the Bank of England. On the field, judgment matters and they deliver results.

For other clubs, the comprehensive dispatch of the European and English champions within five days could be seen as the highlight of a golden era. At Liverpool, it’s easy to play it down as just another week in another season where silver medals are needed to give these victories any real meaning.

But in the context of the arrival of a new coach and the 18th win in 20 games that makes Liverpool a frontrunner at home and abroad, the replacement of Jürgen Klopp by Slot could become one of the most consequential acts of succession since Henry VIII annulled his first marriage . become.

Van Dijk and a Liverpool defense that has not withered despite injuries, including to the world’s best goalkeeper, form the foundation on which this title claim is built.

If Liverpool don’t re-sign him to a new contract, Number 9’s Sheikh Mansour could come knocking on his door and ask City to make an offer that Van Dijk can’t refuse in order to prevent Haaland from ever having one again to endure torment at Anfield.

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