Van Dijk's rescue act edges title ever closer

When Liverpool fans next congregate at Anfield in two Sundays' time it should be for an occasion they have craved for 35 years: the celebration of a league title triumph in person.

- Andy Hunter

When Liverpool fans next congregate at Anfield in two Sundays' time it should be for an occasion they have craved for 35 years: the celebration of a league title triumph in person. This visit was fraught, West Ham's second-half superiority putting the place on edge, but Virgil van Dijk's late rescue act ensured two more wins will get the title party started.

The captain's 89th-minute winner came three minutes after his error led to Andy Robertson putting through his own goal and giving West Ham a richly deserved equaliser. Van Dijk atoned in style and, while Anfield basked in the relief and joy of a precious victory, he made a point of kissing the Liver bird on his chest. A new two-year contract to follow that of Mohamed Salah should be confirmed soon. All that matters to Arne Slot, however, is getting the job done against Leicester and Tottenham. A record-equalling 20th league championship is so close that Liverpool can almost feel it.

The game was preceded by a solemn tribute to the 97 Liverpool supporters who were unlawfully killed at Hillsborough. "Unlawfully killed - Unfairly blamed," read one banner on the Kop, which was bedecked in a "97" mosaic before Tuesday's 36th anniversary of the disaster. Another banner paid a fitting tribute to Phil Hammond, the campaigner and former chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group who died in January.