BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has raved over Liverpool duo Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane, including them in his Premier League Team of the Week.
The two men played an important part as the Reds battled to a crucial 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday, with the Senegal star getting on the scoresheet. Crooks was very impressed by them both.
Writing about Van Dijk on the BBC Sport website, he said: “Virgil van Dijk was at it again. This time, he was strutting around Selhurst Park as if he owned the place. Whenever Van Dijk plays, Liverpool always seem to retain a sense of calm regardless of the circumstances.”
And Mane: “Sadio Mane is fast becoming my favourite to win the PFA Player of the Year award. His performances so far this season have been wonderful. Against Crystal Palace he was, once again, Liverpool’s biggest threat. He refuses to give any defence a moment’s rest.
“That said, the Senegal international might have had a hat-trick in a game that could have finished 3-3. Instead, Liverpool tightened their grip on that elusive Premier League title – and much of that is down to Mane.”
OPINION
Both these two were terrific against Liverpool. It was a quiet sort of excellence, which seems to sum up their relentless pursuit of the Premier League title at the moment. Mane got his goal, as he invariably has this season, while Van Dijk was a picture of calm and class at the back for Jurgen Klopp’s team. The statistics show that both players were fantastic on Saturday. As per WhoScored.com, Van Dijk made a tackle, an interception and 10 clearances, while he had three shots on goal as well. Mane, on the other hand, had three shots, two key passes and one successful dribble, on his way to a game-high WhoScored rating of 7.75. The Dutchman wasn’t too far behind with 7.68, while he managed 70 passes with a success rate of 92.9%. As for Mane being Crooks’ favourite for Player of the Year, there’s not too many players you’d put above him at the moment? There’s only someone like Jamie Vardy who could even compete with Mane right now, so the 27-year-old is definitely in the driving seat.
