Virgil van Dijk didn't have a bad Liverpool debut, did he?

All eyes were on the Dutchman on Friday night when he pulled on the famous red jersey for the first time and in a Merseyside derby at that.

It would be the perfect fixture for the 26-year-old to sink his teeth into a spell at Liverpool after the fee of £75 million that snatched him from Southampton destroyed the world-record for a defender.

On his first appearance, though, he absolutely shined even if his more attacking teammates didn't have it all their way against Sam Allardyce's Everton.

It took a contentious penalty in the 35th minute with Adam Lallana going to ground after a tangle with Mason Holgate, who would later be involved in a viral incident with Roberto Firmino, to make the breakthrough.

Merseyside derby victory

BBC's Alan Shearer certainly wasn't impressed with the decision, stating: "It's a contact sport. You can't give a penalty every time someone goes down."

James Milner inherited responsibilities, though, and made no mistake from 12 yards for his first goal of the season.

Midway through the second-half and Gylfi Sigurdsson levelled for the Toffees only for the man of the hour to arrive with just minutes to play.

Questionable positioning from Jordan Pickford saw Van Dijk rise just behind Joel Matip to head into the open net and propel Liverpool into a 2-1 lead.

You can forgive every single Liverpool fan for losing their mind when Van Dijk headed home as Jamie Carragher led the way with a series of fanboy moments.

His performance shouldn't simply be condensed to the goal, though, with the Dutchman showing a brilliant awareness and bravery, as well as flashes of leadership, that he just hadn't displayed at Southampton recently.

There was certainly reason to be optimistic and Van Dijk's individual highlights from the game say it all - take a look:

Van Dijk's individual highlights 

“I don’t think it can get any better. It was a fantastic night,” the 26-year-old stated after the match and the evidence suggests he was pretty much spot on.

If Van Dijk can transfer that impressive start to life at Anfield into the remaining months of the season then Liverpool's second-half could finally cut out the defensive frailties.

The jury will still be out on the most expensive defender in history but that, ladies and gentlemen, is how to make a start.

Do you think Virgil van Dijk will succeed at Liverpool this season? Have your say in the comments section below.