‘Screaming at him’: Peter Crouch spotted Van Dijk going mad at one of his Liverpool teammates late last night

By Giuseppe Labellarte

BT Sport pundit Peter Crouch has praised Liverpool for their mentality in Wednesday’s Champions League win over Villarreal.

The Anfield cult hero cited the example of Reds defender Virgil van Dijk screaming orders at Ibrahima Konate whilst 2-0 up.

Liverpool were hosting the Yellow Submarine at Anfield in their semi-final first leg.

Though the Reds struggled to break their opponents down in the first half, they got up and running after the break.

In the 53rd minute, Jordan Henderson’s cross took a huge deflection off Pervis Estupinan.

The ball looped over goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, who got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it from nestling in the corner.

Just two minutes later, Liverpool had grabbed their second.

Mohamed Salah poked a ball through the legs of Pau Torres for Sadio Mane, who coolly slotted beyond the keeper.

All the while, Liverpool either had possession, or barely gave their opponents any time to rest on the ball.

Klopp’s charges ultimately saw out a fairly straightforward 2-0 first-leg win to put one foot in the final in France.

“Move it quicker, move it quicker”

Crouch, speaking after the game, loved what he saw from Liverpool, singling out what Van Dijk did in the latter stages.

“To me it’s always the mentality,” the former Reds and Tottenham striker said on BT Sport.

“I looked at Konate put his foot on the ball towards the end of the game.

“They were 2-0 up and cruising and Van Dijk was screaming at him to move it quicker, move it quicker.

“It’s the mentality of being 2-0 up and still wanting to go for more, it’s amazing to see.”

Liverpool are next in action on Saturday, when they travel to Newcastle in the day’s early Premier League kickoff.

The Champions League semi-final second-leg away at Villarreal takes place next Tuesday.