Virgil van Dijk back to his best as Liverpool hold Inter Milan at arms' length in Champions League win

Van Dijk excelled on a busier night than many he has had this season

The six or so months since he returned from injury have not exactly been replete with moments in which Virgil van Dijk could reassert his case for being the world's best center back. That is of course through no fault of his own; the simple reality of being a defender in this Liverpool side is that for most of the time the ball is far away from where you are supposed to be.

Van Dijk has always been a supremely effective component of his side's possession game. In flashes during the course of the Premier League season, he has shown enough to suggest that there are no lasting issues from the anterior cruciate ligament that ended his (and Liverpool's) season in October 2020.

Thanks to Inter, we at least got to see that pre-injury, peak-of-his-powers Van Dijk once more. This is a center back for whom it all comes much too easily, one that probably has not had to break into a sweat since he made the move to Anfield. A well-organized, inventive and energetic Inter Milan threw everything they could at Van Dijk. They barely left a mark.