“Best defender in the world”, “Looking monstrous” - Liverpool fans hail ‘world-class’ player for returning to his best this season

Liverpool fans have praised defender Virgil van Dijk after his outstanding performance in the Reds' 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, October 29.

Van Dijk has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the world over the past six years, helping the Reds win seven trophies including the UEFA Champions League and Premier League titles.

The 32-year-old also narrowly finished second to Lionel Messi for the 2019 Ballon d'Or. Unfortunately, a year-long ACL injury sustained in 2020 hindered his progress.

After a difficult 2022-23 season for Liverpool, Van Dijk appears to be back to his best at the heart of Jurgen Klopp's defense. The Reds' skipper has made nine appearances this season, providing two assists. He is also yet to be dribbled past alongside William Saliba and Kurt Zouma.

Van Dijk gave a stellar performance against Nottingham Forest as the Reds comfortably won 3-0 with goals from Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Mohamed Salah. He had a pass accuracy of 93%, made eight recoveries, won eight duels, and made four clearances.

Fans were impressed with one posting on X (formerly Twitter):

"Virgil Van Dijk is still the best defender in the world."

Another fan posted:

"He was superb against Everton too, looking monstrous again."

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp praises Alexis Mac Allister for his performance in 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp waxed lyrical about midfielder Alexis Mac Allister for his performance in the Reds' 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest at Anfield.

Mac Allister has been deployed as Liverpool's No. 6 this season, despite naturally being more of an attacking midfielder. Despite the change in position to benefit the team structure, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner has done a decent job to date.

Klopp said (via Liverpool's official website):

"I am really pleased for him and [he had] a lot of defensively top moments, really killed the counter and stuff like this. He was really there. He's good in these things, that's why we play him there. In one-on-one situations he is really good and we have to make sure as a team that the spaces are really small in these moments."

He added:

"We can do that with the eights, with the wingers and with the central striker. We can do that with centre-halves who defend into midfield in these moments. Then we have just a really creative player in the centre of the park together with Trent in some moments, which is helpful. Very helpful."

Mac Allister had a pass accuracy of 81%, created one big chance, made 11 recoveries, and won nine duels.