BEING A VAN DOWN WILL NOT STOP TROPHY TILT
LIVERPOOL can still compete on all fronts despite Virgil van Dijk’s horror injury according to Neil Mellor.
The Reds look set to be without their influential captain for the majority of the season after he sustained cruciate ligament damage in last weekend’s Merseyside derby following a challenge by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Having offloaded Dejan Lovren in the summer, Kop boss Jurgen Klopp is now short of defenders. However, Brazilian midfielder Fabin Fabinho played at centreba back in Liverpool’s 1-0 Champions League win over Ajax on Wednesday and impressed.
And Mellor (left) reckons his former c club will keep pushing for domestic and Euro European glory. “Liverpool will always compete for whatever trophy they are in, and they have shown over the last few seasons that they can do that,” he said.
“The only issue in terms of squad depth at the moment is centre-back given the injury to Van Dijk.
“They recruited well in attack, bringing in Diogo Jota to challenge the front three.
“And they will fancy their chances to get through the group stages in the Champions League.
“Then the knockout stages will be interesting to see based on how the squad is looking after Christmas.
“But Liverpool will go for both the Premier League and the Champions League – it won’t be a case of prioritising one over the other.”
Klopp’s side finished a hefty 18 points ahead of Manchester City as they stormed to last season’s title.
But they were battered 7-2 by Aston Villa earlier this month, who only narrowly escaped the drop last term.
Another surprise so far this season is the start made by Liverpool’s city rivals Everton.
The Toffees are unbeaten after five games, netting 14 times in the process.
And Mellor believes Carlo Ancelotti’s men could be serious title contenders if they can keep something like their current form going until the new year, especially against the backdrop of empty stadiums due to coronavirus.
“Football has been so unpredictable since lockdown that you wouldn’t rule anything out,” he added.
“We all thought it would be Liverpool and Man City. But if Everton are still there at Christmas – and if Arsenal and Spurs have kicked on – then we could see a completely different Premier League.”