Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been the target for increasing criticism in recent months but has responded in the right manner as he enters the latest chapter of his career
Virgil van Dijk has grown used to being a target in recent times. So he wouldn't have been surprised at having a laser pen shone in his face as he stepped up to provide a dramatic denouement in Athens on Monday night.
And the manner in which he converted - shades of his nerveless finish in the League Cup final shoot-out victory against Chelsea last year - would have surely felt that much sweeter for the centre-back given the increasing levels of criticism he has been receiving from the more myopic of Dutch dissenters.
The narrative, though, that Van Dijk has subsequently become a busted flush is simply incorrect. Yes, the player himself admits such a serious injury had ramifications on his fitness and performances. That was inevitable.
For some, the decline of Van Dijk was set in motion. However, the impact of his absence was seen in the manner Liverpool capitulated to 3-0 losses at Brighton and Wolves. And since returning to action in mid-February, Van Dijk has started 21 Premier League games and only three have been lost - one, of course, with Liverpool having been reduced to nine men at Tottenham Hotspur last month.
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