Why Virgil van Dijk was left raving about Jérémy Jacquet after Bournemouth masterclass

It wasn't a classic, but Liverpool left the Vitality Stadium with three precious points. On Sunday, the Reds beat Bournemouth 1-0 by the South Coast, with Alexander Isak lashing home the afternoon's only goal just before the hour mark.

Considering it was a game of very little chances, at both ends, it was Liverpool's back line who earned most of the plaudits, with Jérémy Jacquet named man of the match by Sky Sports. Thus, after the match, the Frenchman was interviewed by David Craig, alongside centre-back partner Virgil van Dijk, who was effusive in his praise when asked about his new team mate:

He [Jacquet] has showed a lot of good things so far this season. He's still so young. He still has a lot to learn.... he had a very good game, very good season so far. Virgil van Dijk on Jérémy Jacquet

While presenting Jacquet with the man of the match award, a beaming van Dijk stated "congratulations brother, well deserved! Let's go... one of many!" before giving his central defensive partner a big embrace.

In the match, the 21 year old racked up eight defensive contributions, as well as six ball recoveries, winning three out of four ground duels. More broadly, since arriving from Stade Rennais for £60 million, Jacquet has been excellent. Amid uncertainty as to who are Andoni Iraola's first-choice full-backs, Jeremie Frimpong, Ronald Araújo, Miloš Kerkez and Kostas Tsimikas all vying for those spots, the biggest compliment one can pay Jacquet is that he has been the undisputed starter from day one.

The new recruit barely featured throughout pre-season, having required shoulder surgery in February, and this appears to be have been a masterstroke by Iraola. Since the competitive campaign began, Jacquet has not really missed a beat. When the least composed a 21 year old defender has looked is answering questions in English, that is a ringing endorsement of his performance.

Well, Jacquet's form on Merseyside has clearly caught the eye of Zinédine Zidane. Ahead of his first matches as France manager, the Liverpool defender has been included in his les Bleus squad.