Virgil van Dijk recalls making his dream Liverpool debut against Everton

For some, Virgil van Dijk justified his £75million price tag about 84 minutes into his Liverpool debut.

Few entrances come more fierce than the one faced by the giant Dutchman last January. The fires of Anfield stoked by the heat of Merseyside rivalry. Combine that with the potentially suffocating burden of being the most expensive defender of all time. That pressure would be too much for some.

But great players seize moments. And those moments become legend. Minutes remained in the FA Cup third-round tie. All square. Then a corner, Kop end. Van Dijk rose above the battle to head in Liverpool's winner and sink their oldest rivals Everton.

'It is still one of the best moments of my career,' said van Dijk. 'I made my debut for such a big club. It was a massive week for me anyway so to make my debut and score the winner was fantastic.

'Being a football player you know all about the derbies. You see the games on television. I was prepared. To see it actually happen and to score the winner and the reaction after that was amazing.'

How far he has come since then. How far Liverpool have come too. It would be wrong to suggest the two are unconnected.

Van Dijk has added a presence, a dominance to a defence that was long seen as the runt of Jurgen Klopp's litter, the one weakling that struggled to keep up with the progress of the rest and would always hold them back from being potential Premier League champions.

And already, less than a year since that debut, pundits are already describing Van Dijk as one of the best defenders in the world. Jamie Carragher has said, one day, people will talk of Van Dijk in the same breath as Kenny Dalgliesh, John Barnes, Graeme Souness.

For the man himself, though, he knows he cannot stop to blush at the admiring words directed his way. He knows there is room to grow still. His error for the opening goal in the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain this week showed that.

'I have developed a lot,' admits Van Dijk. 'I have been working very hard with everyone at Liverpool but it is just about keeping going. I am far away from where I want to be.

'I need to improve on everything. If you saw on Thursday, there are things to improve. That will always be the case. At 27, I am at an age where I can still improve. And I will.

'At the end of the season we hope to achieve a lot of things. We will see.'

Liverpool have reached a Champions League final since Van Dijk's arrival. They are a result in Naples away from reaching the knock-out stages again. They are second in the table, two points behind a Man City team with a game in hand.

That game is on Sunday. That game is Everton at Anfield. That game, again. The first time Liverpool's rivals have been back since Van Dijk's heroic debut.

It meant a lot to him then. But what about now? As a world-class defender, his and Liverpool's aims are grander than ever. Their priorities are Europe and catching the champions. Is there still space in all of that for the old rivalry. For fans, of course, but the players? Does all that still matter?

'Oh, it is right up there as well,' says Van Dijk. 'It is very special for all of us, for everyone at Liverpool. It is a massive game. A game that we want to win and we are going to do everything we can to win it.'

If they do, they will extend their unbeaten run against their rivals to 18 matches in all competitions. The longest streak ever. For Everton's last win at Anfield in the Premier League, you have to go back to September 1999 — 18 trips ago.

Liverpool may well find this time tougher than most. Everton are excelling under Marco Silva. Five wins in their last seven. Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson look ever more dangerous with eight goals between them in that period.

Silva could become the first Everton manager since Joe Royle in 1994 to win his first Merseyside derby in the Premier League. Silva is a manager Liverpool full-back Andrew Robertson knows well, having played under him at Hull.

'They are in fine form,' he said. 'They are a different team from last season. I have worked under the manager and he is a very good one.

'It was a lot different the situation he is in now at Everton to Hull. He has got a lot money, he has built a squad. At Hull he was thrown in at the deep end and was trying to save us and he didn't quite do it. In the months he was there he was a a fantastic manger. He went on to do well at Watford and now Everton. I am sure I will say hello to him.'

Like Van Dijk, Robertson is in no mood to play down the importance of the game this afternoon. 'The derby is one of the biggest games of our season. The fans demand a good performance. They will demand us to be ready and we will be.'