Virgil was widely praised by fans after showing off his expansive passing range on international duty for the Netherlands.
During the UEFA Nations League clash, the Netherlands slipped behind against Hungary when Roland Sallai opened the scoring just after half an hour. The Dutch side were dominant but were still losing after 45 minutes - and one statistic stood out from the first half of play at Puskas Arena Park.
Van Dijk completed 99 passes in the first half, which was a staggering 50 more than the entire Hungary team combined. But it was one pass that truly caught the eye.
Moments after Sallai struck to give Hungary the lead, the Dutch were camped in their opponent's half as Van Dijk had possession near the halfway line. With a nonchalant swing of his right boot, the captain fired a perfect arcing pass into the path of Tijjani Reijnders as he rushed in behind the Hungarian defense.
While the pass ultimately came to nothing, it showcased Van Dijk’s exceptional ability with the ball at his feet. He remains one of the premier defenders in world football, but the 33-year-old was caught out in the second half.
Just three minutes after picking up a booking, Van Dijk was beaten to a through ball by Hungary forward Kevin Csobot, leading to another foul. The referee had no choice but to .
The center-back was shown a yellow card in the 76th minute but was beaten to a through ball by Kevin Csoboth. The forward knocked the ball forward and Van Dijk clipped his legs, taking out Csoboth and leaving the referee no choice but to give the Dutchman his marching orders for the first time at the international level.
We need to start a conversation about van Dijk’s passing ability because this isn’t normal for a CB, he’s insane.
— AS (fan) (@ArneSlotBall) October 11, 2024
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Van Dijk will now return to Liverpool action against next week fully rested, as he is suspended for the Nations League clash with Germany. The Reds sit atop the Premier League table at the October international break, having lost just once across all competitions so far in 2024-25.
Thanks to his well-rounded game and passing ability, Van Dijk has helped Liverpool impress under new boss , with the Reds winning both domestically and in Europe. But he is under no illusions that Liverpool must continue to improve.
“Everything has been so far, so good,” Van Dijk told the 's official YouTube channel. “I think we still have so much to improve. But the start, I think everyone can be happy with where we're at at the moment with the results. Some of the games have been not as good as we'd like to be but we still got a result.
“It's going to be a long season, we have so many games left [and] players are getting used to the demands of the new coach. But in terms of changes tactically or any of that, there's not [been] major changes. Obviously, he has his principles, and he has his values and what he wants from us, but we're learning, and we keep going. We have a lot of players coming through and a good mixture, in my opinion, as well. We have to keep working hard and stay humble.”
