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Few players epitomise Liverpool's recent dominance as much as its captain Virgil van Dijk.
It's remarkable to think now that Liverpool's decision to splash $101 million on the Dutch centre-back in 2018 was met with some scepticism over whether they had overpaid. That figure - then a world record fee for a defender - now looks like a relative bargain when you consider what Van Dijk has done in the years since.
Two Premier League titles, a Champions League, the Club World Cup, a Super Cup, an FA Cup and two League Cups. The silverware speaks for itself. But Van Dijk has also been central to one of the more overlooked factors of what has underpinned Liverpool's success: Fortress Anfield.
Liverpool's record at home since Jurgen Klopp took charge back in 2015 has gone from distinctly average to making Anfield a place few clubs emerge from with anything to show for their efforts.
And incredibly, since Van Dijk's arrival in 2018, the Liverpool captain has only been on the losing side at Anfield in the Premier League on three occasions.
A shock defeat to Leeds just before Halloween in October 2022 was Van Dijk's first, while two of those losses came last year when Liverpool slipped up in 1-0 defeats to Crystal Palace in April and Nottingham Forest in September.
His first loss to Leeds was decided by a late Crysencio Summerville winner in the 89th minute.
Eberechi Eze then dented Liverpool's title hopes in their final season under Klopp in 2023/24 which ultimately handed the advantage to eventual champions Manchester City.
Arne Slot's Reds then lost just once in his first 30 Premier League matches in charge, Callum Hudson-Odoi's winner at Anfield dealing an early blow before Liverpool went unbeaten until defeat away at Fulham in early April.
Van Dijk could well have been playing his football elsewhere this season after only committing to a new contract in April. The 34-year-old was convinced to stay put at Anfield after Liverpool chiefs outlined their plans for a big summer of investment to strengthen the club's title defence.
Since then Liverpool have spent more than $500 million on new arrivals, breaking their club transfer record twice in one summer by landing Florian Wirtz for $156 million and Alexander Isak for $168.8 million.
The deals were similar in nature to the acquisitions of Van Dijk, Alisson, Fabinho and Mohamed Salah which proved to be the catalyst for Liverpool's trophy-laden period.
Speaking after signing his contract, Van Dijk said: "Whatever happens in terms of players going out, players coming in, I think it should be a big summer.
"I think they're planning to make it a big summer, so we all have to trust the board, as a Liverpool-connected fan, to do the right job. I think Liverpool should be able to challenge for titles in the upcoming years."
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