Virgil van Dijk showed true colors with Trey Nyoni gesture after first Liverpool goal
Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk showed his class after he urged Trey Nyoni to lap up the celebrations after his first Anfield goal.
Nyoni made quite the impact during pre-season and was a regular under Arne Slot in his first friendly matches in charge. He is yet to feature in the first-team since the campaign got underway but was on the bench for the Champions League match against Bologna.
The teenager signed his first professional contract with the club on Tuesday and will now look to make further first-team appearances as the campaign goes on.
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He scored his first senior goal against Sevilla in August as Slot's side ran out 4-1 winners in their penultimate pre-season friendly.
A Luis Diaz brace and a strike from Diogo Jota set the Reds on their way but the biggest cheer of the day was reserved for Nyoni, who had impressed against the La Liga side.
After scoring his goal, which saw him mobbed by his teammates, skipper van Dijk made sure the teenager received the praise he deserved from the Anfield crowd.
After the initial celebrations, Liverpool's players began to head back to their half with Sevilla preparing to kick-off. However, van Dijk made a point to grab Nyoni, and shove him towards the crowd so he could once again be applauded and cheered by the Anfield crowd. The midfielder gave the Reds supporters a couple of fist pumps before turning back to rejoin his teammates.
And while it was only a brief moment that could have been missed, it was still a classy gesture from the Reds skipper, who has been taking a keen interest in Nyoni's development. Speaking back in November 2023, Liverpool youth coach Jay Spearing revealed the Dutchman had personally congratulated Nyoni on being invited to train with the Reds senior squad.
Spearing said: "Virgil came up to him and congratulated him on training with them. He said, ‘He’s [Nyoni] got a lot more to come’ and he really liked him. Virgil also came out to watch the U-18s against Middlesbrough to see how Trey was playing."