11 months ago
185 Alex Bruce was left amazed by the defending of Virgil van Dijk during the early stages of Liverpool’s win over Sheffield United on Wednesday after the centre-back denied Cameron Archer.
Bruce was speaking on BBC Radio Five Live after the Blades striker saw an attempt at Caoimhin Kelleher’s goal blocked by the Dutchman.
Virgil van Dijk played a key role in Liverpool’s win at Bramall Lane. It was the Reds skipper who opened the scoring shortly before the break.
Alex Bruce amazed by Virgil van Dijk during Liverpool win
But defensively, he was brilliant. And perhaps his best piece of work came when Sheffield United did superbly to break down their left-hand side, getting away from Ibrahima Konate.
Archer looked to be sprinting towards goal. But just as he broke into the box, van Dijk calmly stepped across and made a block at the perfect time to ensure that Kelleher had no save to make.
Certainly, Alex Bruce was hugely impressed by the 32-year-old.
“Fantastic defending from Virgil van Dijk,” he told BBC Radio Five Live. “He didn’t panic and just when he needed to, he stepped across. Powerful, big frame. Wonderful defending!”
Reds captain looking like a Rolls-Royce again
What was so remarkable about what van Dijk did became apparent on the replays of the block. While Archer appeared to be flying towards the goal, van Dijk was almost strolling across the same amount of ground.
And yet, he had time to firstly ensure Archer had to keep going towards goal, and then step across with absolutely no fuss at all when the shot was hit.
Archer is a young striker so he probably did not have the guile to disguise what he was going to do. Nevertheless, van Dijk completely dominated the mental battle in that moment, seemingly making Archer do exactly what he wanted.
Van Dijk definitely looks to be a lot closer to his best this season. And Liverpool now find themselves two points clear of Manchester City, and two points off the Premier League summit.
The post 'Wonderful': BBC pundit left amazed by what 'fantastic' Liverpool player did in first 20 minutes last night appeared first on TBR Football.
