Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham: Melissa Reddy shares another example of Virgil van Dijk’s greatness

Liverpool left it late to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in dramatic fashion thanks to an own goal from Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld and an excellent performance from Virgil van Dijk.

Spurs definitely had enough in the tank to be able to win the game, if it wasn’t for Reds star van Dijk and his colossal defending.

One of the moments that Reddy illustrated was particularly telling as Moussa Sissoko broke away with the ball and found himself in a 2-vs-1 situation against the Dutchman.

The former Newcastle United midfielder was on his weaker left foot, but had lightning attacker Son Heung-min in support of him. Lesser defenders would have panicked. Lesser defenders wouldn’t have been able to stop a goal.

But van Dijk is not one of these lesser defenders. He’s one of the best in the Premier League and he made the perfect decision under immense pressure.

The Netherlands great decided to cut off Sissoko’s passing lane and allowed the Frenchman to have a shot on his weaker side, rather than letting him pass to Son – who is better in front of goal.

And the result? A win for van Dijk and the removal of a series threat to Alisson Becker.

It’s things like that which show how important the ex-Southampton lad is to the side and how vital VVD will be as the race for the Premier League comes down to the wire.

Small moments will really matter, and that could be one of many that helps Liverpool overcome that one point advantage Manchester City holds and claim a truly historic league triumph.

Their next game is on Friday night against Southampton, who they should beat, and it’ll be moments like that which help decide the game in Liverpool’s favour.