The captain scored a late winner against West Ham but the expected announcement of his new contract could have even greater significance

For over an hour, he was shaping up as the match-winner. Instead, Van Dijk was. “A big relief,” sighed Slot. Liverpool’s corners had been unimpressive, both over the afternoon and much of the campaign. But he was able to add: “We saved a big set-piece for a very important moment.”

Virgil van Dijk seemed to have cost Liverpool two points when he got tangled up with Andy Robertson, leading to a soft equalizer for West Ham. However, just three minutes later, he was at the other end of the pitch,