Strikers get spooked by the aura of world-class defenders and tend to avoid them altogether — especially Van Dijk

Normally, though, he is the master of laidback defending. Watching him, it is tempting to recall the phrase Bill Shankly used to introduce Ron Yeats, an earlier generation of Liverpool captain, to the media. “Take a walk around my centre-half, gentlemen, he’s a colossus,” he said.