Virgil van Dijk's leadership has made a "real difference" to Liverpool's incredible defensive transformation, according to team-mate Georginio Wijnaldum.
Jurgen Klopp's side have conceded just five times in the Premier League this term, a vast improvement on the 17 they had shipped by the same stage last season.
Netherlands skipper Van Dijk was signed for £75 million ($96m) in January to address the issues at centre-back and has made an impressive fist of justifying the outlay, which was a world-record fee for a defender.
Liverpool's players recently appointed the cool-headed 27-year-old their third captain behind Jordan Henderson and James Milner in a sign of the esteem in which he is held at Anfield.