DON’T PANIC
Result in Italy was a setback, says Van Dijk, but it will all end Napoli ever after
VIRGIL VAN DIJK says Liverpool won’t press the panic button after losing their opening Champions League match on Tuesday.
Defeat in Naples meant the Reds suffered only a second loss in 32 competitive games, a run that stretches back to the turn of this year.
The holders created enough chances against Napoli to have won but for once the feared front three of Mo Salah (right, top), Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane (right, lower) couldn’t find the clinical touch.
Those three players, who stand second, third and fourth in Liverpool’s all-time European Cup scoring lists – behind Steven Gerrard – were uncharacteristically wasteful.
But Van Dijk is backing them to put things right in the Premier League at Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s football, things like that happen sometimes,” said the Dutchman about Liverpool’s failure to convert chances into goals. You wish in the end there was something different, or the right pass, but you know it’s like that sometimes. Yeah, they made a lot of problems for Napoli, and we had a lot of opportunities. We hurt a very strong side on their own ground.
“It was just a case of failing to pick out the right pass – there are always moments in games that could go better.”
The Liverpool centreback denied the 2-0 defeat by the Italians was a wake-up call for the Mersey men. “We have been outstanding since the start of the season so there is no reason to panic,” he said.
“It shouldn’t be a wake-up call. We played well, we put them under pressure. There were a lot of positive things to take from the game, the only thing not positive was the result.” Van Dijk was at fault for Napoli’s second goal – a collector’s item in his time at Anfield. Questions have been asked about Liverpool’s defence this season after only one clean sheet in eight games – last season the Reds topped the clean-sheet charts.
But the Dutchman denied they are wobbling. “Napoli can cause any team problems at home,” he said. “They have a lot of movement, a lot of runs in behind, and between the lines, and it is not easy to defend against.
“But we did that pretty well I think. They weren’t able to put too much pressure on us.”
Napoli, who beat Liverpool in the group stage in Italy last season, went ahead in the second half via a penalty that looked very harsh. And Van Dijk said that decision was key. “The penalty changed the game. It was a key moment,” he said. “I felt it would be a draw until then but the penalty changed it. It was a killer and we felt it was harsh, but we can not change that now.
“It is not easy to put them under pressure so there are many positive things we can take away from the performance. That is the key now looking towards the next game.”