LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 11: Ronald Araujo and Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Liverpool FC and Manchester City at Anfield on October 11, 2026 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Gill Clark Gill Clark is the site manager of Barca Blaugranes and joined in 2017. She has worked in sports media as a writer and editor for the best part of two decades and has been in love with the beautiful game for as long as she can remember.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has become the latest Red to shower praise on Barcelona loanee Ronald Araujo.
The Uruguayan in loving life at Anfield following his summer transfer and was named Player of the Match (and Premier League Player of the Week) after Sunday’s win over Brighton.
Manager Andoni Iraola spoke about how much he loved his performance afterwards and Van Dijk has explained why Araujo was so important to the win.
“I think he was very aggressive in the right moments at the right time,” Van Dijk told Stadium Astro. “That’s what we need. You see it with the crowd, the crowd loves it, and that energy can transcend to the team.
“I think it was great to get the clean sheet, [there was] hard work for it of course, because if you look at Brighton they’ve scored so many goals and only conceded a couple. So it was important for us to keep that clean sheet and be ready on the break, and that’s what we did.”
After a tough time at Barcelona, Araujo is loving life in the Premier League with Liverpool and now faces some big fixtures with the Reds. Iraola’s side take on Chelsea in the EFL Cup in midweek and then host Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.