Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz took a lot of the plaudits after Liverpool beat Newcastle United.
After midweek success against Qarabag in the Champions League, the Reds appeared to have reverted to type early in the clash when Anthony Gordon put the visitors 1-0 up.
However, thanks to some brilliant link-up from Ekitike and Wirtz, Liverpool took a 2-1 lead into the break.
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Following the tie, the summer additions have been showered in praise, including Arne Slot comparing the Frenchman to a World Cup winner.
How many goals will Hugo Ekitike end up with this season?
He’s surely heading past 20
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC
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But Virgil van Dijk’s role in the comeback should not be underestimated.
Virgil van Dijk’s leadership qualities helped Liverpool beat Newcastle
In the midst of Deadline Day, Liverpool released their behind-the-scenes matchday footage of the Newcastle tie on their YouTube channel.
Within the highlights from the clash, one particular angle of Ekitike’s first goal proved what a great leader Van Dijk is.
The Liverpool striker was celebrating with many of his teammates, but if you look closely, you can see the Reds skipper standing near the halfway line, urging the players to get back.
Slot’s men had just equalised, and it was clear Van Dijk wanted to get the game back underway as quickly as possible after the tide had begun to shift in the home team’s favour.
It would have been easy for the centre-back to run up the pitch and join in the celebrations, but he used his many years of experience to ensure the match got back underway quickly.
Van Dijk’s actions were rewarded two minutes later when Ekitike added his second goal, and Liverpool were 2-1 up in the 43rd minute.
Virgil van Dijk leaves Liverpool in 2027. Who replaces him as Reds’ captain?
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Shaun Botterill/Liverpool FC
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Virgil van Dijk responds to Arne Slot criticism
In another display of leadership, Van Dijk has now defended manager Slot after online criticism of the Dutchman this season.
Xabi Alonso continues to be linked with the Liverpool job, but the skipper has insisted there is no need to take notice of what is said on social media.
As per ESPN, he stated: “Who gives him the disrespect? That’s the question. Is the disrespect being given by people that we shouldn’t value their disrespect?
“I can also think about players being disrespected, and who disrespects the players? Is that someone you value, is it a significant show of disrespect or someone you can just let slide and instead just focus on the task ahead to be successful as a Liverpool player? That’s the responsibility we speak about every three or four days.
“If you’re going to read all that stuff [on social media], one week you could be the hero and the next week the villain. I spoke last week about how [much] worse and difficult it’s getting every year. For the next generation it will be a very big challenge.”
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