Virgil van Dijk was absolutely tremendous as Liverpool beat Inter Milan in their Champions League last-16 first leg tie on Wednesday evening.

The Dutchman was a rock at the back as Liverpool kept a clean sheet in Italy and scooped the Man-of-the-Match award for his display.

Goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool a two-goal victory.

Van Dijk had a tough task of dealing with Inter duo, Edin Dzeko and Lautero Martinez. But they rarely troubled him.

One moment in particular in the first half showed Van Dijk's brilliance.

Inter looked like they had a great chance to score when Martinez found himself in a 1vs1 situation with Van Dijk.

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 16: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool FC kicks the ball during the UEFA Champions League Round Of Sixteen Leg One match between FC Internazionale and Liverpool FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 16, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Martinez is one of the best forwards in Europe but Van Dijk dealt with him with ease.

In fact, Van Dijk is so good that it looked as if Martinez didn't even bother trying to take the ball past him.

He dwelled on the ball far too long and allowed Thiago to close him down and make a tackle.

It was a masterclass in how to defend when 1 vs 1 by Van Dijk and you can view the moment below...

Pure brilliance by Liverpool's number four. Yet another masterclass on how to defend by Van Dijk.

You can view some of the reaction to his class below...

Van Dijk spoke to the media after the game.

“Tough place to come, a very good team, difficult to break down and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the crowd,” Van Dijk told BT Sport.

“Set-piece again and it’s a good strength of ours. A good result to take back to Anfield. You try everything and they did very well defensively, but Bobby found the space and a great goal. It is a well-deserved win, very hard work.

“Everyone expects to be under pressure, it is the Champions League. The message before was you need to be ready to suffer and do the hard work. It is a very good performance, clean sheet and happy days.”

Liverpool will look to book their place in the last eight when they welcome Inter Milan to Anfield for their second leg in three weeks time.