Garth Crooks has selected both Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah in his “team of the week.”
The BBC pundit praised Salah for his composure from the penalty spot to clinch a crucial 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday, but he reserved special praise for van Dijk who he believes is the best in the business:
“One of the many reasons I think Van Dijk is the best defender in the world is because he does difficult things with the minimum of fuss. He wins headers when strikers are backing into him and doesn’t complain to the referee. He wins tackles he has no right to win and then plays one touch to set the attack in motion. It’s as if he has no wish to attract attention to himself. He reminds me of my former BBC colleague Alan Hansen, who was the same and he wasn’t bad either!”
Van Dijk is undoubtedly getting back to top form now. Ollie Watkins caused him all sorts of trouble in the 7-2 defeat last year, but the Dutchman kept him quiet, as well as the rest of the Villa attack.
Crooks also named two Chelsea players in his team, Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho, while Manchester United’s David De Gea was recognised for his display against Norwich City at the weekend.
Leicester pair Youri Tielemans & James Maddison, Arsenal centre-back Gabriel, Crystal Palace’s Conor Gallagher, Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling and Brentford’s Bryan Mbuemo made up the rest of the eleven.
