There was a Virgil Van Dijk-shaped elephant in the room at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.Liverpool had hotly pursued the Dutch defender this summer and so much so that, at one point, Southampton even decided to contact the Premier League.The report seemed to unnerve the Reds who were forced to apologise and put the brakes on their pursuit of the £70 million-rated defender.As soon as the transfer window shut, though, and Van Dijk remained a Southampton player, Liverpool had to rest their case until January or even next summer.The man himself was also freed from his solitary training regime before making a return to the first-team in September.This weekend marked his first clash with Liverpool since the months of rumours and he didn't exactly put in a convincing performance against the team he could play for very soon.The Reds went to town on Mauricio Pellegrino's men in a convincing 3-0 win. Mohammed Salah in particular impressed with his stunning opining goal, whipped past Fraser Forster from the edge of the area.Liverpool's record signing then doubled the home side's lead just before half-time only to play a role in Philippe Coutinho's strike to kill off the fixture.
There was also a moment of amusement when Dejan Lovren, who's endured a tumultuous season on Merseyside, flattened Van Dijk.And while the Dutch defender was being subject to general, negative observations from Liverpool fans, a few eagle-eyed Kopites managed to spot his roles in both of Salah's goals.The Southampton man's wayward headed clearance kickstarted the opening strike but when you consider no defender could have stopped the end product, fans gave him a pass on that.That wasn't the case with the second goal, however, when Van Dijk's bizarre positioning was picked up and the defensive hole he left behind made a perfect opening for Coutinho.Take a look at the offending position and the reaction of Liverpool fans:
Only Van Dijk himself will know what he was up to there and he'll take salvation in the fact it was a more subtle, albeit equally fatal, defensive error.
It's certainly not wise to step up almost 10 yards when Coutinho is trying to thread a pass to the speedy and slippery Salah, that's for sure.
Nevertheless, given some of Liverpool's own defensive performances this season, they'll still take a Van Dijk that produces the odd concentration lapse.
Do you think Virgil van Dijk is worth £70 million? Have your say in the comments section below.