Having now watched Virgil van Dijk’s interview next to Wayne Rooney dozens of times, it’s not the words themselves that stand out but the gestures, expressions, and timing.

First there is the knowing smile on Van Dijk’s face as he calls criticism of Liverpool’s start to the season “over the top” when speaking to Amazon Prime after their win over Real Madrid .

Then there is the slight lift of the microphone from a smiling Rooney, who is clearly eager to defend himself knowing that Van Dijk’s comments are referring to him, having last week called the Liverpool captain’s body language a concern on his eponymous podcast.

And finally there is the clean sweep of smiles etched across the faces of Gabby Logan, Robbie Fowler, Theo Walcott and Daniel Sturridge as well, the quartet only missing

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