'First time in a long time': Gabriel Agbonlahor shares what he noticed about van Dijk's display in Netherlands win

07/08/2024 12:45 PM

Gabriel Agbonlahor has suggested that he saw something happen to Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk as Netherlands beat Turkey at Euro 2024 that he has not seen for a long time.

Netherlands have booked their spot in the semi-final of Euro 2024, where they will face England looking to reach the final of the competition for the first time since 1988. Of course, it will be Virgil van Dijk who leads his side out, up against many players he knows extremely well from the Premier League.

Van Dijk remains one of the finest defenders in the Premier League. The 33-year-old has come in for criticism at times in recent years, having sometimes struggled to rediscover his very best form since returning from his long-term injury a few seasons ago.

Van Dijk was outstanding for much of the last campaign. But it seems that some view the Liverpool man as a potential weak point up against England in Wednesday’s semi-final.

What was noticed about Virgil van Dijk’s quarter-final performance

Speaking on talkSPORT (broadcast on 8/7; 7:44), Gabriel Agbonlahor suggested that it stood out to him how van Dijk seemed to find it difficult to deal with pace in the quarter-final with Turkey.

"Gakpo has looked like a threat, but watching the game against Turkey, I thought Van Dijk looked quite poor,” he said.

“First time in a long time I have seen him get outpaced, he had to bring the Turkish winger down and got booked for it as well. So, I am looking at the England squad, surely we have got enough with the players that we have got against this Dutch team. I think England will beat Holland on Wednesday."

What Liverpool captain has shown so often over the years

What van Dijk has shown time and time again in recent years is that writing him off is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make, with the veteran producing some brilliant performances last season – most notably, in the Carabao Cup final when he inspired the Reds to victory. He has adapted his game, and reads what is happening in front of him almost better than anyone else.

So it would be very dangerous for England’s attacking players to think that they could exploit van Dijk in the semi-final – even if he was not as impressive against Turkey.

As they say, class is very much permanent.