Virgil van Dijk brings in new Liverpool squad rule in first major change as captain

Dominic Calvert-Lewin wouldn't have known it at the time, but his Merseyside derby battle with Virgil van Dijk peaked after just 36 seconds at Anfield on Saturday.

The Everton striker's early header, from Dwight NcNeil's cross, was held by Alisson Becker and that was about as close as he would get to breaching the rearguard of Jurgen Klopp's side.

And while Sean Dyche might bemoan the sending-off of Ashley Young or the failure to show Ibrahima Konate the same fate in the second half as reasons for why his team were unable to really lay a glove on their hosts, a lot of it was down to the performance of the excellent Van Dijk.

The Liverpool captain might have only been the official skipper since the summer but this was his 50th appearance with the armband and he played like a man who was determined to make his mark on the 243rd meeting between the local rivals.

The first half, in particular - when it remained 11-versus-11 - was characterised by Van Dijk overpowering the usually aerially dominant Calvert-Lewin. Whereas Liverpool's second centre-half is usually targeted by opposition frontmen in an effort to steer clear of individual tussles with the Reds skipper, Calvert-Lewin found himself up against Van Dijk a number of times in the first half, with little success.

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The No.4 won 12 of his 17 duels on the day - 10 in the air - and made as many as five clearances. One particular piece of play in the second half drew gasps as he brought down a long ball on his chest before passing it to a team-mate when most defenders would have opted for the simple headed