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The big story over the past few days has been Philippe Coutinho, and he's finally got his dream move.

Personally, I'll be sad to see him leave, as I'm sure many others are.

He's a hugely-talented player, one I've enjoyed watching enormously.

I was disappointed with what happened in the summer and that mystery back injury, but he knuckled down when he came back and showed all of the talent and attitude that he has.

But I don't like seeing Liverpool lose their best players, and Coutinho is that. The timing is strange for me, given that he couldn't play in the Champions League for Barcelona and that he could be very important for Liverpool in that competition, and others, between now and the end of the season.

But if he wanted to leave now then the club may have thought it was best to get rid, and to have players who wanted to be here.

We'll go on, but it'll be a shame to lose such a gifted talent.

Virgil van Dijk gives Liverpool fans confidence –

I hoped Virgil van Dijk would start against Everton, so when we got wind of the team on Friday evening I was very pleased.

People seem to think he was coming in cold, but he's been playing games for Southampton this season. He could handle that game.

And boy did he handle it.

This is the platform he wanted, playing with better players in bigger, more high-pressure games.

For a Liverpool player, they don't come more high-pressure than a Merseyside derby, but I thought he handled the occasion superbly.

After a couple of nervy minutes, he was outstanding. He won his aerial duels, he was commanding in that regard, and he showed he can be a leader defensively.

He was talking to Matip and Karius throughout, and that makes such a difference. It instilled confidence into the team, but also the fans as well. They were thinking 'we've got a leader at the back here' and that's something we've wanted.

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We knew what Van Dijk's qualities were when we signed him, and we got a glimpse of all of them on Friday.

I particularly liked how he was at set-pieces, he was organising defensively and he was such a threat when he went forward.

When a big man comes up from the back, he sometimes attracts two men to him and that can create uncertainty in a defence, and space for others. I think that may have been the case with the chance that Joe Gomez missed at the back post, and it was great to see Van Dijk himself able to get his head on one late on. What a moment!

I think it was big for him, and for the fans. That attachment is there already, now. He's scored against the rivals, which always endears him to supporters. He's already got a memorable moment in front of the Kop, one which everyone enjoyed.

I certainly did!

(Image: Colin Lane)

Complaints about the penalty? What about the defenders?

When will defenders learn?

All the time, we hear managers and pundits talking about how you can't put your hands on forwards in the box.

And yet they still do it.

Liverpool's penalty on Friday was soft, just as Everton's was in the last meeting.

But if you get on the wrong side of an attacker, you have to keep your hands to yourself. If you don't, you're inviting the forward to go down, and giving the referee a decision to make.

This one went our way, as the last one didn't.