Liverpool tallied up another three points last night in their Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield and Jurgen Klopp will be feeling relieved that a late surge of creativity helped his side secure a 2-0 victory.
The Reds climbed into sixth on Wednesday night following the positive result on Merseyside and are now just six points adrift of the top four ahead of their clash with bitter rivals Manchester United on Sunday evening.
Liverpool dominated throughout with 57% possession, had more shots on target (6 v 1), created more big chances (4 v 1) and completed more accurate passes (437 v 320) but for large parts of the meeting looked like they were heading for a similar fate they endured in their stalemate with Crystal Palace last weekend.
In the first half, the game looked set to be relatively uneventful with Liverpool struggling to bring the energy needed to quickly get stuck into their opponents and at the half-time whistle it looked like the Anfield faithful were set for another sleep-inducing outing.
The same could be said for the opening 15 minutes of the second half with neither team looking like they were going to snatch all three points. However, a moment of magic from Darwin Nunez finally brought Liverpool to life with a goal scored in the 67th minute and although VAR cancelled the goal it was the wake-up call the team desperately needed.
Just six minutes later Virgil van Dijk rose to get on the end of a free-kick which was batted away by Jose Sa but into the path of Diogo Jota who flicked it on for the Liverpool defender to take his second chance at a header which he comfortably converted to give Liverpool the lead.
It was then the turn of the inevitable Egyptian winger Mohammed Salah to score his 20th goal of the season in all competitions in the 77th minute, killing the game and securing Liverpool an important victory in front of the home support.
Indeed, Salah’s effort to double the lead was a welcome sight for the Kop but it was Van Dijk who worked tirelessly throughout the game to keep the game alive for the Merseyside giants.
How did Van Dijk play against Wolves?
The Dutchman’s exemplary performance came after a fantastic week so far for the player who was named in the 2022 FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11 by his professional peers on Monday evening and proved against Wolves exactly why he is considered one of the best defenders in the game.
Over his 90-minute performance, the 31-year-old titan completed a whopping 80 touches and made 66 accurate passes, as per Sofascore.
In producing two shots on target and delivering one key pass, he was a constant thorn in Julen Lopetegui’s side, while in making two clearances and winning three duels, the Netherlands international was a rock at the back.
The £220k-per-week brute’s faultless display prompted high praise with talkSPORT commentator Joe Shennan claiming that the centre-back looked “back to his best” under the lights on the red side of Merseyside:
Klopp will surely be hoping that the victory over Wolves will give his players the confidence and ambition they desperately needed as they head into a difficult meeting with an incredibly in-form Man United side this weekend and will be able to deliver the supporters the belief that a Champions League qualifying spot is well within reach.
With that being said, Van Dijk’s dominance and resilience throughout his performance at Anfield proved that hard work really does pay off, which should give the player and his peers the boost they need to get the job done over the remainder of the season.