Ex-Man Utd defender Gary Pallister believes Virgil van Dijk is “a reason” Liverpool are “looking like a Premier League winning team again”.

Liverpool have been relentless this season, won nine of their first eleven Premier League games.

That record has them unsurprisingly top of the table, five points ahead of champions Manchester City and nine ahead of Arsenal.

The transition from Jurgen Klopp to Arne Slot has been seamless and former Man Utd centre-back Pallister believes the Dutchman has found the “perfect balance” in his squad.

“Liverpool have the perfect balance at the moment, and that’s so hard to find in any team,” he said.

“You have players who Trent Alexander-Arnold whose greatest qualities are not defending, but what he gives you on the ball with his vision and the delivery of those passes is incredible. Then they have Mohamed Salah who continues to score, so they have the balance right at the moment.

“But it’s having a good defense that always gives you the confidence that a goal can win you the game.

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“If you look back at the Premier League winning teams of George Graham when he had that back four at Arsenal and how many games they used to win 1-0, it was because their defense was such a solid unit.

“You still have to have that balance between trusting your players at the back and being confident further up the pitch.

“You can leave Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate at the back one-on-one and you know they will handle the situation, which means you can get more people involved up front. They are a big reason why they are at the top of the table at the moment.”

Pallister says Van Dijk is the reason Liverpool are performing so well this season and believes he is one of the best defenders in Premier League history.

He added: “Virgil van Dijk had that cruciate ligament injury which really looked like a struggle for him in his first season and I wondered if he had ever been the same player again.

That said, I think he is back to his very best now as he was in his first two years for Liverpool when he was outstanding. He is up there on the list of the best centre-backs the Premier League has ever seen.

“When you look at players like Tony Adams, John Terry and Vincent Kompany they are the markers, so Van Dijk is certainly in the conversation with those names.

“I hate to say it, but he’s looking back at his best in a very strong Liverpool team and I think he’s a reason why they look like a Premier League winning team again.”