Virgil van Dijk proved he's an incredible leader by ordering Shaqiri to take free-kick v Newcastle

There’s a case to be made that Virgil van Dijk is Liverpool‘s most important player.

The Dutchman missed most of last season due to a serious knee injury and the impact that had on the Reds was evident for all to see.

Liverpool just weren’t the same team. In 2020/21, they finished 17 points behind Manchester City in the Premier League, losing nine games along the way.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage and exited both the FA Cup and League Cup in the fourth round.

But this season with Van Dijk back at the heart of the defence, Liverpool have been arguably the finest team on the planet and are chasing an unprecedented quadruple.

Is their improvement since Van Dijk’s return a coincidence? Absolutely not.

The former Southampton man is not only the best and most complete defender around, he’s a leader of men and someone who reads situations on the pitch incredibly well.

One moment that perfectly highlighted both his leadership and understanding of the game came against Newcastle United at the tail end of the 2018/19 season.

It was a match Liverpool needed to win in order to keep the pressure on City, however, things didn’t look great for Klopp’s side.

A second half equaliser from Salomon Rondon levelled the scores at 2-2 and as the clock ticked over to 86 minutes, it looked for all the world that the visitors would drop two precious points.

But Divock Origi, the man for the big occasion, headed home a dramatic winner from a free-kick.

And Van Dijk – who scored himself earlier in the game – played a crucial role in the goal without even touching the ball.

Just before the set-piece was delivered, the defender could be seen ordering Xherdan Shaqiri to take the free-kick over