‘Very, very fast’… Virgil van Dijk blown away by the pace of one of his Liverpool teammates

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There have been plenty of interesting side stories within Liverpool’s 2023/24 campaign so far.

Clearly, however it ends, this season will now always be remembered as being Jurgen Klopp’s final one at Anfield. But aside from the manager’s impending, sensational exit, there has been other memorable features of the season so far.

One of them has been the stunning improvement in Darwin Nunez’s game. The 24-year-old has gone from being in and out of the side at the end of last year, to being one of Klopp’s key men. Nunez still isn’t quite as prolific as he could be, but he’s getting there.

Throughout his 18 months at Liverpool so far, the Uruguayan has continuously been backed by his teammates. And now, speaking to Men in Blazers this week, Virgil van Dijk has given a further insight as to why they’re so convinced he’ll be a success – he’s a nightmare to play against.

“Listen, Darwin in my opinion is a handful for any, any defender,” says Van Dijk. “He keeps running, he’s direct, he’s fast, he can jump, he can do everything as a modern day striker. It’s very difficult to play against him.

“Obviously, I played against him once away against Benfica. He was very direct and very, very fast. It’s difficult, it’s difficult for any defender. He’s learning every day, he’s getting better. He’s in a good moment and that’s what we need. He needs confidence, he needs to be happy and I think he is at this point, he’s feeling very comfortable within the group and that’s very important, too.”

Van Dijk recalls Nunez test

Anyone who remembers watching Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Benfica back in April 2022 will know exactly what Van Dijk is talking about here.

He’d been in terrific form heading into the game, but Virgil was given the run around by Nunez.

The Uruguayan may have only come away from the game with a single goal, but he made sure that the Reds centre-back knew he was in a game.

Pacy, direct, tenacious and relentless, Darwin displayed all of the good things we’ve seen from him since his move to Anfield just a couple of months later. Nunez was brilliant in the Anfield second-leg too, although Van Dijk didn’t play.

Obviously we’ve also seen the other side to our No.9, too. Poor finishing has unfortunately become a marker of Nunez’s game. Thankfully, as Virg attests, he more than makes up for that shortcoming in other areas.

Watching Nunez give his team real trouble almost two years ago was reportedly part of the reason Jurgen Klopp was convinced to sign him for Liverpool.

Since then, it hasn’t always been straightforward for Darwin. Nevertheless, he’s clearly popular with his teammates and the supporters couldn’t love him more.

Virgil hasn’t been the only defender frightened by Nunez’s pace over the years. Thankfully, from now on, they’re all on opposition teams.