Virgil van Dijk’s badge-kiss tells of a Liverpool love affair set to be continued

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Virgil van Dijk broke off mid-answer during his post-match media duties at Anfield when he spotted a special guest approaching him.

“Just let me say hi,” he told the assembled written reporters.

There was a warm embrace for Liverpool supporter Sean Cox, who was accompanied by wife Martina and their family. They had been invited by the club to Sunday’s game against West Ham United to celebrate the Irishman’s birthday.

“It’s good to see you — it’s been a while. I’ll come and see you guys shortly,” added Van Dijk, before returning to talking about Liverpool edging closer to Premier League title glory.

The unwavering support of Van Dijk and everyone connected with Liverpool has meant a great deal to Cox’s family and friends since he suffered brain injuries in an unprovoked assault outside Anfield before the first leg of a Champions League semi-final against Roma nearly seven years ago.

And the club’s talismanic captain provided the perfect birthday gift with the dramatic late winner which sparked wild scenes inside the stadium.

Virgil van Dijk heads in Liverpool’s late winner against West Ham (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

What a rollercoaster of emotions.

A few minutes earlier, Van Dijk had his head in his hands after a mix-up led to him inadvertently diverting Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s low cross against Andy Robertson and then past Alisson for a West Ham equaliser.

A restless crowd had been gripped by anxiety during a sloppy second-half display and at that point West Ham looked destined to head back to London with a deserved share of the spoils, having finally cancelled out Luis Diaz’s 18th-minute opener.

However, Van Dijk changed the narrative emphatically in the final minute of the 90 by nodding home Alexis Mac Allister’s corner. The outpouring of emotion the goal triggered, both on the field and in the stands, showed what it meant as Liverpool extended their lead over Arsenal to 13 points with six games left.

After being mobbed by his team-mates, Van Dijk patted the badge on his shirt in front of the Kop and then planted a kiss on it, to rapturous acclaim.

“Obviously, there was time to make it right, and luckily we did,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports, the game’s UK broadcaster. “We train a lot on it and I try to be important. Finally today, I could score the winner.”

It was his first Premier League goal at Anfield since the 4-1 win against Luton Town in February last year and the perfect way to tee up this week’s expected announcement of his new two-year contract.

Trying to replace Van Dijk this summer would arguably have been even more difficult for Liverpool than finding a successor for Mohamed Salah, who signed his own new two-year deal last week. Despite the fact he turns 34 in July, the Dutchman has played every minute of every top-flight game this season… and has been absolutely immense.

The long-serving centre-back has relished a changing role under first-year head coach Arne Slot, with more responsibility on him to start moves with his distribution between the lines. He completed 63 of his 67 passes (94 per cent) against West Ham and won four out of six duels.

And then there is the value of Van Dijk’s leadership, which is much harder to quantity with data. He embraces everything that comes with wearing Liverpool’s armband — on and off the pitch. He sets the standards around the club and brings out the best in others around him.

Standing alongside his skipper post-match, talking about his own contract renewal, Salah beamed: “I am glad that we managed to do it early, before the end of the season, and hopefully Virgil will be next. I just say hopefully! He can do whatever he wants but I would love to see him again next season.”

There is no doubt about that.

Liverpool can now recruit from a position of strength this summer, safe in the knowledge they have retained the services of their two most influential players. Yes, they are both in the twilight of their careers but their contributions since the season began in August ultimately made the financial outlay required to keep them a no-brainer.

“I can tell you I’m very proud today to captain my 100th (league) game for Liverpool,” Van Dijk added “It was an emotional day, because of the Hillsborough anniversary. The main focus was to get three points and get a step closer to all of our dreams — not only us as players and staff but everyone connected to Liverpool FC.

“Everyone knows how much I love this club and let’s see what next week will look like.”

Anfield pays its respects ahead of the 36th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

It was some day for Liverpool’s old guard.

Salah sparkled in the first half and produced an exquisite pass for Diaz to break the deadlock. In doing so, the Egyptian set a new record of 45 goal involvements (27 goals, 18 assists) in a 38-game Premier League season. He is now just two behind the record of 20 league assists in a campaign held jointly by Kevin De Bruyne (2019-20) and Thierry Henry (2002-03).

And then there was his fellow 32-year-old Alisson, who shone on his return to the side after recovering from concussion. The Brazilian goalkeeper repeatedly thwarted West Ham before he was finally beaten by Robertson’s own goal. The saves he made from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen were of the highest quality.

“As a manager, you are always looking at those who have already achieved a lot of things in their careers to step up in the most important moments of the season,” Slot told reporters.

“At the end of the season, moments get bigger and bigger and bigger. Today, the three of them showed up. Alisson had probably his best game of the season, Virgil scored the header to get us three points and Mo was again very important in the first goal and really lively in the first half. I saw the Mo Salah again from most parts of the season.”

Slot was an animated post-match as he has been all season as he celebrated in front of the Kop. He was delighted with how Anfield collectively responded to the blow of conceding that equaliser as the home supporters inspired the late surge back up the pitch which resulted in Van Dijk’s winner.

Liverpool now need a maximum of six points from their six remaining games to be crowned champions. It will be all over on Sunday if second-placed Arsenal lose away against Ipswich Town in a lunchtime kick-off and Liverpool then win at another of the sides on course for relegation, Leicester City.

Regardless, it is tantalisingly close now.

“I don’t care where we win it,” insisted Slot. “We know we still have to win two more games and the first 32 games have shown us how difficult that is, as the competition has never been as strong as it is this season. This week, we should try to improve to give us a better chance of winning next weekend. My full focus is on Leicester.”

By then, the feel-good factor should have been further fuelled by confirmation of Van Dijk’s new deal.

Even ahead of Salah, he has been Liverpool’s most transformative signing of the Premier League era and his love affair with the club burns brighter than ever over seven years on.

(Top photo: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

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