Liverpool vs Watford: Told you Troy Deeney would have a nightmare

Liverpool humbled Watford 5-0 in the Premier League and Hornets forward Troy Deeney had a nightmare against Virgil van Dijk.

Not only was van Dijk content with scoring two goals but he also made sure Deeney didn’t have a sniff all night.

The Hornets skipper was reduced to chasing shadows and the one shot he had was off target. But then that shouldn’t really be a surprise when you consider Deeney absolutely hates playing against Big Virg.

Van Dijk has put better strikers than Deeney in his back pocket, but every time he reduces the opposition’s main threat to such levels its worth thanking our lucky stars that Liverpool have the Dutchman.

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Deeney is a good player and he gives his all for Watford, but the 30-year-old is never going to be prolific in the Premier League. A return of seven goals and three assists this season is handy contribution, however, and the striker has already gone past his haul for the entire of 2017/2018.

It’s always great to watch Liverpool score goals, but there’s a special satisfaction that comes with a big win and a clean sheet. Van Dijk was a massive part of that and there’s no doubt that he’s in the top bracket of defenders in the world.

So it should come as no surprise that Deeney would struggle against the 27-year-old, who lifts the entire back-four to his astonishing level.

There couldn’t be a better way to prepare for the Everton game on Sunday than this. Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, so crucial to the way Liverpool attack, had excellent games and the fact that both are among the leading goal creators shows how important they are to the Reds.

Deeney doubtless wishes he had them supplying crosses for him. But as it stands he goes back home to extract himself from van Dijk’s massive pocket.