Joe Gomez has lauded the vast influence of Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool, calling him a “special player”.
Gomez and Van Dijk have been outstanding alongside one another in recent months, helping Liverpool go 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League, with a game in hand.
With the pair marshalling the troops, the Reds haven’t conceded in the league since the 5-2 win over Everton on December 4th, keeping seven clean-sheets in a row.
That’s the longest stretch without conceding since Manchester United back in 2008/09, when they kept 14 shutouts in a row in the league.
Speaking to LiverpoolFC.com, Gomez couldn’t speak highly enough of Van Dijk, who was once again colossal in the 2-0 win at home to United on Sunday:
I’m buzzing for Virg. Everyone knows how happy I am when he scores and it’s nice for us to put work in in training on those set-pieces and then they come off.
I don’t think it’s easy to measure what he does for us as a team. He’s such a dominant character, a dominant player.
He’s a special player and we’re lucky to have him at the club – he’s my big brother! He’s a top player and a top person to be alongside.
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I think Gomez has shown that he Van Dijk’s strongest centre-back partner moving forward.
That is nothing against Joel Matip, who was superb prior to injury, but he doesn’t possess his teammate’s pace, quality on the ball and long-term potential.
Gomez has a pass completion rate of 89.4 percent in the league this season, while Matip‘s is only 83.1 percent.
It took a while for Gomez to find his best form again, following a broken leg, but he is back to playing at the peak of his powers.
In my opinion, Liverpool not only have the world’s best centre-back in their ranks, but also the most exciting young player in that position, too.
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