Virgil van Dijk and Kostas Tsimikas were spotted having a laugh after facing each other yesterday.
Tsimikas came out on the losing side having seen his Greece team beaten 3-0 by the Netherlands. Cody Gakpo got one of the goals in a one-sided affair.
But after the game, it was all love between the Liverpool trio. As seen in a video on The Anfield Talk Twitter page, Van Dijk had a big old cuddle with Tsimikas on the pitch.
Before long, Gakpo interrupts, giving the left-back a hug of his own. As the three players have chuckle between them, Greece manager Gustavo Poyet marches over.
Although a look of seriousness comes across Tsimikas’ faces, it’s quickly replaced by a smile. With Van Dijk and Gakpo also laughing, the former Chelsea player must have cracked a joke. With Poyet moving on, the Liverpool lads continue to chat lightly between them.
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With Tsimikas being the character that he is, you can imagine there was some banter flying around ahead of this game.
The left-back is one of the liveliest members of the Liverpool squad. He will have likely been hammering Van Dijk and Gakpo about it all week.
But when it came down to it, the Netherlands were always likely to be stronger. With Gakpo on the scoresheet and Virgil trying out a new position, it was a good day for Liverpool’s Dutch duo.
As for Tsimikas, it was his first meaningful minutes of the season. With the Europa League set to start soon, it will have done him some good to get through 90 minutes.
It was perhaps a surprise to see him stay at Liverpool this season, without the promise of first-team football.
The Reds are a stronger squad with him in it, though. The competition he provides for Andy Robertson is important. And if Tsimikas gets the chance, expect him to show why he deserves to start more games.
Regardless of that, this little insight shows just how popular the 27-year-old is with his teammates. And that’s important too.