Van Dijk in high spirits

IF LIVERPOOL did get lucky when Aleksander Mitrovic’s goal for Fulham was disallowed at Anfield last Sunday, what happened next was – in Jurgen Klopp‘s words – “brilliant”.

A swift pass from goalkeeper Alisson to Trent AlexanderArnold, a superb ball to release Mohamed Salah and a burst of pace from the Egyptian capped by an unerring finish.

Those crucial 14 seconds which swung the match Liverpool’s way were initiated by Virgil van Dijk (right), whose frantic waving alerted his goalkeeper to the opportunity of a swift break.

And according to the impressive Dutchman, none of what followed was down to luck.

“That is something we want to do, a quick break when we win the ball,” said van Dijk.

“When the flag was up we tried to get it back in play and it was a great ball from Trent and a great finish as well.”

Xherdan Shaqiri’s cushioned second-half volley secured the three points as Liverpool recorded clean sheet No. 10 in their last 11 Premier League games at Anfield, conceding just one goal.

At the heart of it all has been van Dijk, the world’s most expensive defender and playing just like it.

Few mentions of his name go without the word “colossus” near it these days.

Liverpool have not conceded fewer goals – five – in any league campaign in their history and the last time they matched it – in 1978/79 – Alan Hansen and Phil Thompson were anchoring the defence.

“We can be very positive about that (clean sheet). It was very important, especially second half, to keep it tight at the back and I’m glad we did.

“It was an important win especially before the international break I think and especially after the defeat we had in the Champions League.

“We won and showed some good football, especially in the second half.

“It was a scrappy game but we kept a clean sheet and won so it’s a good feeling.”

Liverpool’s win took them to the top of the table – briefly – before events at the Etihad once again left them looking up at Manchester City.

Can Liverpool sustain a serious title challenge?

“That is something we still need to see,” he said.

“City are the champions and the best team in the League but we will try everything to be as good as we can,” added the Dutch defender.

“Man City are not going to win every game 5-0 and are going to have tough games like everyone else.

“For us the challenge is to win or try to win every game that is ahead of us. The season is very long.

“We don’t have to look at others. We want to look at the games we have and the next challenge we have is Watford away, which is going to be tough.

“We need to look at what we have ahead of us and that is more important than looking at someone else. It’s the only way forward.” – The Independent / Daily Star