Virgil van Dijk issued a simple yet resounding message to his Liverpool teammates in the minutes before kick-off against Manchester City on Sunday.
The Reds went into one of their biggest fixtures of the season in imperious form, in stark contrast to their ailing opponents, and the current chasm between the two teams was evident as the home side secured a commanding 2-0 win in L4.
The latest episode of Inside Anfield on LFC’s official YouTube channel captured footage of the captain addressing his teammates in the tunnel just before they stepped out onto the pitch to do battle.
Exuding a similar level of calm to what he shows during matches, Van Dijk instructed the rest of the Liverpool players: “Stay together boys. In everything we do, stick together, on and off the ball. We start well, win your battles, be there for each other, help each other out. Come on, be ready, let’s go!”
Virgil van Dijk led by example in Liverpool's win over Man City
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Van Dijk message was heeded by his Liverpool teammates
Looking at how the match transpired, it’s fair to say that Van Dijk’s message to his teammates was very much heeded. Right from the first whistle, Liverpool were all over City like a rash, and Cody Gakpo’s 12th-minute goal undoubtedly corresponded with the run of play in the opening quarter-hour.
Although the visitors actually edged their hosts for duels won (51% to 49%), the Reds were dominant in the air, winning 58% of the aerial battles contested on the day (Sofascore).
If one excerpt from the game summed up the commitment from the home side, it was Darwin Nunez sprinting across to cut out a dangerous opening for Jeremy Doku in stoppage time, when the result had already been effectively secured.
That intervention by our number 9 earned hearty approval from Van Dijk, who led by example with an imperious captain’s display which prompted journalist Oliver Holt to compliment him as a ‘Rolls-Royce’ of a player.
Sunday’s performance has set the standard to which Liverpool must aspire in every match they play for the remainder of this season.
You can view Van Dijk’s pre-game speech to his Liverpool teammates below (from 5:35), via Liverpool FC on YouTube: