“By my standards,” The 32-year-old Liverpool player acknowledges that the previous season wasn’t his greatest.

Liverpool did not place in the top four of the Premier League last season, and Virgil van Dijk has acknowledged that he was not at his best.

After nearly winning four titles the previous season, the Reds had a challenging year. One of the main causes of Liverpool’s decline in both the Premier League and Europe was Van Dijk’s decline in play.

But this season, both the 32-year-old defender and Liverpool have turned the corner, with Van Dijk returning to form and Liverpool now the clear favourites to win the Premier League.

However, the Dutch international acknowledged to Sky Sports that the previous campaign was challenging, stating: “Last year was, for my standards, not the best year.”

“I acknowledge that completely. However, despite how everyone was portraying it, it wasn’t all that horrible. For me, it was just a matter of playing with my head down and not paying attention to the commotion around me.

“I’m happy I did, and even from the previous year, I believe things went really well with the system adjustment and Trent’s increased playing time inside. Feeling good, I have a lot of goals to accomplish as this football team’s captain.

Liverpool’s pursuit of the Premier League crown has been greatly aided by Van Dijk’s play, who is unquestionably back to his best this year.

It’s almost unbelievable to consider how fast Van Dijk has recovered his position as one of the top centre backs in world football, considering the places the defender has been in recent years.

Without Van Dijk, Liverpool would not be where they are now in the season, and the Dutchman is having some of his greatest games with the Reds thus far this campaign.