Virgil van Dijk barely put a foot wrong during Liverpool's 3-0 win over Watford.

It was another impressive performance from the Reds with Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino finding the net at Vicarage Road.

But Jurgen Klopp will have been equally pleased with the performance of his defence on the night, with the Merseyside club bagging another clean sheet despite Joe Gomez's absence.

Van Dijk was certainly at the heart of that, performing brilliantly alongside Dejan Lovren and receiving due praise from supporters across Twitter.

The Dutchman boasted a passing accuracy of 88%, made three clearances, delivered three tackles and won all eight of his aerial duels.

Van Dijk starred vs Watford

Pretty impressive stuff from Van Dijk then and his performances aren't being missed, with numerous fans and pundits considering him the world's best defender on current form.

What's perhaps most interesting, though, is the praise Van Dijk has received from his fellow professionals and numerous players have considered him their toughest challenge.

Glenn Murray certainly fits into that category, telling BT Sport in September: "For me, he's the stand-out central defender in the Premier League."

Gray's honest verdict on Van Dijk

And the Brighton & Hove Albion player certainly isn't alone with Andre Gray dropping a similar comment just days before his very own Watford faced Liverpool. 

A clip has emerged from a video with the YouTuber Manny Brown, where he was asked for the toughest opponent he's faced and his answer said it all.

"Van Dijk. He's big, he's strong, he's fast and he's good on the ball," Gray answered.

"I don't know where he gets his pace from, he must be eating some good food."

Just a few days later and he was proven spot on, too, with Van Dijk delivering a brilliant performance against Watford and preventing Gray himself from scoring.

It's no coincidence that Premier League strikers are starting to reference the Liverpool man as their toughest challenge and nobody compares on current form.

Like Gray explains, Van Dijk ticks so many of the boxes for a centre-back with his pace and strength giving him a distinct advantage in English football.

And if Liverpool are to maintain a solid title challenge this season, they'll need their star defender in top form and continuing to improve those around him.

There can be little doubting that Van Dijk has brought the best out in Andrew Robertson, Alexander-Arnold and Gomez since his January arrival.

However, as Gray can vouch for, Van Dijk is leaving the biggest impression on the strikers that just can't get past him.

Do you think Van Dijk is the best defender in the Premier League? Have your say in the comments section below