Pundit shares ‘100%’ Virgil van Dijk claim after what he’s just seen at Liverpool
Noel Whelan has hailed the partnership of Liverpool defenders Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk after back-to-back wins against Man City and West Ham.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested “you can never say never” about a title challenge if the centre-back pair can maintain “consistency” in their performances.
Gomez and Van Dijk started and played the full 90 minutes in 1-0 wins against Man City (16 October) and West Ham (19 October) as Liverpool arrested their slide and moved to seventh in the Premier League.
Van Dijk has been a mainstay in the side this season, while Gomez has recently shifted back into a centre-back role after deputising for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back last season.
The defensive ability of last season’s Champions League finalists had been under scrutiny after heavy losses against Napoli, Man United, and Arsenal.
Liverpool are now 11 points adrift of the Gunners – who lead the Premier League after 10 games.
Whelan claimed the Reds’ back-to-back wins can “100% kick-start a season” for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
He told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “These have been the best games of the season by far for both of them.
“They were under pressure from two of the most in-form strikers in Haaland and Scamacca, but they’ve turned in two complete performances.
“Van Dijk and Gomez have been excellent. With all the injuries Liverpool have got, they need to keep them fit. It would be a huge blow if Van Dijk in particular got injured. He’s one player they can’t do without.”
“That aggression was back, the covering round, the intelligence. And they needed that. They needed to show they were worthy of their accolades.
“They’ve got to continue that now. This has got to continue against all of the mid-table and bottom three teams because performances like that can 100% kick-start a season.
“They’re a long way behind, but you can never say never if they keep the consistency of what we’ve seen in these two games.”
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