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In a week when Liverpool released a statue of their late manager Bob Paisley outside Anfield, another colossus of the clubs' current all-conquering machine continued to write his own history.

Virgil van Dijk is a football perfectionist. He is seeped in nonchalance at times, deciding what is worth his time and what isn't. That is, of course, what has led to such esteemed praise in the past 18 months and meant he narrowly missed out on the Ballon d'Or of 2019 to Lionel Messi.

It feels as though Van Dijk is now somewhat seen as part of the furniture of this Liverpool success, as people look to new and more romanticised ways to laud record-breaking team. But the Dutchman's quality shouldn't be lost on anyone. If anything, his performance against Southampton only reaffirmed just what makes him the world's best.

When deviating slightly from constantly marshaling those around him, Van Dijk was able to showcase his impeccable decision making in every quarter. He completed two tackles, four clearances, seven ball recoveries, two headed clearances and six aerial duels in the 4-0 win. He also committed no fouls throughout the 90 minutes.

(Image: Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)

Make no mistake, this isn't a law of averages type of run down when it comes to his stats. He vary rarely has a higher number of attempted than completed defensive actions. It is present throughout his Premier League career, even when he was playing at levels below what he is achieving now with both Southampton and Liverpool.

In 144 appearances, the defender has a 71 percent tackle success rate, a whopping 879 clearances and a staggering 1,002 duels won. He has only eight yellow cards and one red and has committed a mere 82 fouls throughout his whole career in England. That suggests a player who is defined as elite by his decision making above all others. The number four is seemingly able to constantly asses how much of a danger a certain situation represents and decide on the best course of action when dealing with it.

Against his former team, van Dijk allowed Moussa Djenepoa a dangerous looking shot from just outside the box, knowing full well the odds of beating Alisson Becker were marginal (the shot had an xG of 0.04). When his centre-back partner Joe Gomez had an unnerving ten minute spell just before the break, Van Dijk verbally guided him through it.

While the plaudits are rightly being spread far and wide to describe this current Liverpool team, it is the more unseen actions such as those which make Virgil van Dijk truly special. So much so that they might one day lead to his own immrortalizing tribute outside the famous stadium.