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Not Alisson – Liverpool need to thank this player for first goal against Fulham

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By Thomas Hein

Virgil van Dijk & Joe Gomez

Alisson played a huge role in our first goal against Fulham on Sunday. The Brazilian wasted little time in restarting the game after Aleksandar Mitrovic’s header and Trent Alexander-Arnold passed quickly to Mohamed Salah for the goal.

The goal for Liverpool came just 14 seconds after the header from Mitrovic was ruled offside, but another player deserves as much credit for the goal.

Jamie Redknapp pinpointed Virgil van Dijk for starting the move, and the cameras also caught the Dutch defender instructing our keeper to start the game.

Redknapp wrote in his column for the Daily Mail (h/t Liverpool Echo):

“Watch the replay more closely and you’ll see it is Virgil van Dijk who tells his goalkeeper to take the free-kick quickly.

“A moment of ingenuity and leadership like this highlights Van Dijk’s value to Jurgen Klopp’s side.

“With every week that passes, the £75m man is proving he is worth every penny.”

Van Dijk certainly didn’t want the team to waste time, and the goal was important for the Reds. Fulham were growing in threat and the quick finish from Salah provided us with a buffer.

Xherdan Shaqiri got the second goal of the game after the break, but once again, Van Dijk is proving his quality in all aspects of the game.

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The Dutchman also tried his luck with a free-kick but could not open his scoring for the season. The former Southampton star has been worth every penny since he joined Liverpool, and he seems to be getting better with each game under his belt.