'Genius. Enough said.' Liverpool fans hail Virgil van Dijk as the 'best defender in the world' after brilliant piece of defending thwarts Tottenham counter-attack Liverpool secured a vital win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday The Reds were tied at 1-1 until a late Toby Alderweireld own goal won the contest Before that Virgil van Dijk made a vital intervention to prevent a certain goal The Dutchman stopped a two-on-one situation and was praised by Reds fans By Peter Rutzler For Mailonline Published: 10:34 BST, 1 April 2019 | Updated: 10:35 BST, 1 April 2019 Viewcomments Virgil van Dijk has been widely praised following the Liverpool defender's outstanding contribution to his side's 2-1 win over Tottenham on Sunday. The Dutch stopper was lauded for stopping a potent Spurs counter-attack in the second half, when the Reds were themselves chasing a match-winner. Van Dijk astutely negotiated a worrying two-on-one situation which saw Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-Min bare down on the Liverpool goal. Virgil van Dijk was praised by Liverpool fans for stopping a potent Tottenham counter-attack The Dutchman was left exposed in a two-on-one situation with a little under five minutes to go Van Dijk calculated that Son was a better finisher and blocked Sissoko's line of pass The Frenchman was forced to take the shot on his left foot and duly blazed the ball over the bar Standing in their way was the Liverpool defender, who quickly judged Son to be the greater threat and blocked the line of pass for French midfielder Sissoko to take. Sissoko dallied and was forced to take a shot with his weaker left foot, which he duly blazed over the bar. Liverpool went onto win the match thanks to a late own goal from Toby Alderweireld, but Reds supporters did not forget their £75million defender's important contribution, labeling him the 'best defender in the world on Twitter. One fan simply stated: 'Genius. Enough said.' Liverpool supporters weren't the only people to praise the Dutchman, even one Manchester United fan joined in the van Dijk appreciation, tweeting: 'Am a united fan tho, but that was total brilliance from van Dijk... as a defender, you gotta be able to think so fast and quick.' Liverpool went on to win the match 2-1 thanks to a very late Toby Alderweireld own goal Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino also added his voice to the chorus of acclaim. He told Sky Sports: 'That shows why Liverpool paid more than £70m for Van Dijk. 'The legs are heavy and it is difficult to be clear to think and it is not his [Sissoko's] best quality but I am so happy with his performance and commitment to the team.' Van Dijk's intervention came at a critical juncture in a match which Liverpool felt they simply had to win to keep the pressure on Manchester City. Jurgen Klopp's side leapfrogged the champions into first place, but City can rip up their two-point lead with victory over Cardiff in their game in hand on Wednesday. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility