Liverpool’s young centre-back Joe Gomez says he was “buzzing” for Virgil van Dijk after the Reds defender scored and helped his side to a clean sheet in the win over Manchester United on Sunday.
Van Dijk soared above the United defence to head home a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner, giving Liverpool an early lead in the game. The Reds’ number 4 was then commanding in defence when the visitors began to push for an equaliser late in the second half.
Mohamed Salah sealed the deal with an injury-time goal on the counter-attack but Gomez’s highest praise this week has been for his defensive partner.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com about Van Dijk, Gomez said:
“I’m buzzing for Virg. Everyone knows how happy I am when he scores and it’s nice for us to put work in in training on those set-pieces and then they come off.
“I don’t think it’s easy to measure what he does for us as a team. He’s such a dominant character, a dominant player. He’s a special player and we’re lucky to have him at the club – he’s my big brother! He’s a top player and a top person to be alongside.”
Gomez was questioned on whether the Liverpool players are paying much attention to the current Premier League standings. Jurgen Klopp’s side is now 16 points ahead of second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand.
“No, not at all.
“We just focus on each game and the three points that are ahead of us at the time, [we’re] not focusing on the points [total] or whatever. We’re in this position and it’s one that we’re focused on and just hungry to finish off.”
Liverpool travel to face Wolves at Molineux this Thursday night before a trip to Shrewsbury on Sunday in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
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