Virgil van Dijk hits extraordinary Liverpool landmark that puts him alongside Steven Gerrard

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Among all the stats thrown around before a match, some are just numbers on a screen and then there are the ones that stop you in your tracks.When Virgil van Dijk walks the team out in Austria for tonight's 5:45pm kick-off against LASK, he’ll be wearing the captain's armband for the 200th time as a Liverpool player.Think about that for a second. He isn't just our best centre-back; he’s the player everyone looks to when things get tough on the pitch.Which is precisely why there was collective nervousness through the entire fan base after Sunday’s brutal 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at Anfield.

Van Dijk has entered the final year of his contract at Anfield. Jacquet in particular looks like an absolute gem of a young centre-back, but his rapid adaptation has happened precisely because he has Van Dijk standing beside him, talking him through every single phase of play.

Whatever happens with his contract down the line, one thing is non-negotiable: Liverpool simply can't sell him in the January window, under any circumstances.Tonight in Austria, the immediate task is all about building a defensive platform and getting over Sunday's hangover. None of Liverpool's last 44 European fixtures have ended level, and the club hasn't recorded a goalless 0-0 draw in a Champions League group or league phase match since a trip to PSV Eindhoven back in 2006.Players like van Dijk don't come around twice in a generation.