Virgil van Dijk brings in new Liverpool squad rule in first major change as captain

The Liverpool captain has made a change to the team’s pre-match routine and is back to his

Dominic Calvert-Lewin wouldn’t have known it at the time, but his Merseyside derby battle with Virgil van Dijk peaked after just 36 seconds at Anfield on Saturday.

The Everton striker’s early header, from Dwight NcNeil’s cross, was held by Alisson Becker and that was about as close as he would get to breaching the rearguard of Jurgen Klopp’s side.

And while Sean Dyche might bemoan the sending-off of Ashley Young or the failure to show Ibrahima Konate the same fate in the second half as reasons for why his team were unable to really lay a glove on their hosts, a lot of it was down to the performance of the excellent Van Dijk.

The Liverpool captain might have only been the official skipper since the summer but this was his 50th appearance with the armband and he played like a man who was determined to make his mark on the 243rd meeting between the local rivals.

The first half, in particular – when it remained 11-versus-11 – was characterised by Van Dijk overpowering the usually aerially dominant Calvert-Lewin. Whereas Liverpool’s second centre-half is usually targeted by opposition frontmen in an effort to steer clear of individual tussles with the Reds skipper, Calvert-Lewin found himself up against Van Dijk a number of times in the first half, with little success.

The No.4 won 12 of his 17 duels on the day – 10 in the air – and made as many as five clearances. One particular piece of play in the second half drew gasps as he brought down a long ball on his chest before passing it to a team-mate when most defenders would have opted for the simple headed clearance.

he sending-off at Newcastle aside, it’s been a strong start to the campaign for Van Dijk, who has had to listen to exaggerated claims around his form for too long now, particularly in his homeland where a slew of outspoken pundits and former players have attempted to tear down the Netherlands captain.

Jamie Carragher dedicated his Friday Telegraph column to the Reds defender, writing: “Many argue Van Dijk has not been the same since he suffered a serious knee injury in the Merseyside derby in October, 2020. That is an historical rewrite.

“He was brilliant in 2021-22 when two wins from a quadruple. Even the contentious recent loss to Spurs was only Van Dijk’s third defeat in his last 21 league games.

“Long-term, the knee operation (in 2020) probably did take a toll, but the recent negative appraisals are based on how good Van Dijk has been. This is a player who was unlucky to finish runner-up to Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or voting in 2019 – a rare accolade for a centre-back.”

As part of the new-look ‘Liverpool 2.0’ – to coin a Jurgen Klopp phrase – Van Dijk is now the official leader of men, with a method of captaining that is very different to the style Jordan Henderson preferred for the last eight years.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold installed as vice-captain, there’s a general feeling within the Liverpool camp now that a different leadership group will operate in contrast to the demanding approach chosen by Henderson and James Milner prior to their summer departures.

If Van Dijk’s exudes a quiet calm compared to the more vocal Henderson when it comes to being club captain, he, alongside Alexander-Arnold, leads more by example and he is hugely respected by his colleagues.

“This club has had some incredible captains over the years, leaders who would bring the best out of themselves and their team time and time again,” Van Dijk says. “So to be on the list with people like that is definitely not the kind of thing that I would have expected when I started playing.

“But the most important thing for me is that I am part of a team of leaders, individually, who find their own way to take responsibility no matter who is wearing the armband.”

One of the things the new skipper has chosen to do in his new role is to introduce a team huddle before kick-off now which aims to give the players a few final words of inspiration before the games get underway.