Georginio Wijnaldum pays homage to Liverpool friend Virgil van Dijk with a gesture of “class”

Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum paid tribute to Virgil van Dijk for scoring twice in the Netherlands’ 3-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Wijnaldum was in shape in Sunday’s Nations League clash, leading his team to two goals in the first 13 minutes.

First he entered the penalty area with a low cross from Denzel Dumfries, then the 30-year-old found himself in the right place at the right time to beat home on a Steven Berghuis header in the box.

And both times Wijnaldum paid tribute to injured country club and teammate Van Dijk by placing his right hand under his chin and waving his fingers.

It’s the celebration that Van Dijk uses when scoring, with Wijnaldum making a clear nod to the defender, who could miss the rest of the season following successful surgery on a broken ACL.

And Wijnaldum’s tribute was not lost on Liverpool fans when images of his celebration appeared on Twitter.

One fan described it as a “great tribute”, while another said, “Class – nice gesture from you.”

Another simply said: “What a friendship”.

Lyon ace Memphis Depay scored Holland’s third goal before Smail Prevljak consoled the visitors.

It was only the Netherlands’ second win out of five Nations League matches, but Wijnaldum’s performance was an advantage for Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp ahead of Sunday’s Premier League return against leaders Leicester.

In addition to being without Van Dijk for the Anfield clash, Liverpool will miss Joe Gomez, who is also out with a long-term knee injury, and right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has a calf problem.

Injury-prone Joel Matip is the club’s only available senior midfielder, while defender Fabinho is recovering from a hamstring injury.

Left-back Andy Robertson suffered from hamstring problems on international duty, and Jordan Henderson went out with muscle stiffness during England’s defeat to Belgium on Sunday.

The Reds are also concerned in the foreground, with Mohamed Salah excluded from the Leicester visit as he self-isolated having shown “mild” symptoms of coronavirus.

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