Jurgen Klopp: 'Virgil van Dijk dealt fantastically with return to Southampton'

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has claimed that Virgil van Dijk dealt "fantastically" with his return to Southampton.

The Dutch centre-back produced a solid performance in central defence as the Reds ran out comfortable 2-0 winners at St Mary's on Sunday.

Van Dijk was booed by some sections of the home support following his £75m move from the Saints to Liverpool in January, but Klopp thinks that his player dealt well with the hostile reception.

"He did really well and dealt with the situation fantastically," Klopp told Sky Sports News. "We had a little talk before the game, asking him what he thought - 'No, I'm fine, boss'.

"I didn't want to make him nervous if he isn't, obviously he wasn't. The crowd is there to make life difficult for the opponent, but it wasn't too difficult for him from this point of view and I'm happy about that."

Liverpool returned to third place in the Premier League table as a result of their victory on the south coast.