Virgil van Dijk admits Liverpool need everyone to step up after the Reds suffered a number of injury problems at Brentford and in recent weeks
For a team that has secured more points from losing positions than any other in the Premier League this season, the resilience shown by Liverpool goes some way to explaining why they sit proudly upon the summit.
But rarely has that trait been tested as severely as at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
First Alisson Becker was hamstrung less than 24 hours before kick-off. Then before half-time the Reds lost both Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota with what could turn out to be serious injuries. And then Darwin Nunez had to be withdrawn at half-time as a precaution.
All at a ground where have been few happy memories for the Reds, not least last season when a 3-1 defeat set in motion a tailspin down the table that ultimately contributed to them missing out on Champions League qualification for the first time in seven years.
Jurgen Klopp’s side, though, responded with arguably one of their most impressive performances of the campaign to register a thumping 4-1 triumph and retain a grip on first place that was strengthened by Manchester City’s failure to beat Chelsea later in the day.
“We have had a little bit of trouble here before,” says Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk. “But there can be no questions about the resilience of the team at this point. We have shown in the last couple of seasons we always try and find a way. We had to deal with certain difficult moments but we have the quality and we have the players.
“Last year I got injured here and got a muscle injury I had never had before. But that was last year and you should not think of negative things otherwise you limit yourself, in my opinion. It was always going to be tough even before the injuries.”
Those injuries are beginning to mount. Jones, Jota and Alisson are almost certain to join Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominik Szoboszlai, Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Joel Matip and Ben Doak as extended absentees, with none likely to be available for Wednesday’s Premier League visit of Luton Town when Liverpool look to open up a four-point gap at the top.
Van Dijk, though, doesn’t dwell on the Reds’ ongoing hunt for honours on four fronts being any more impressive given the busy treatment room.
“That is something for the outside world to judge,” he says. “We cannot deny that we have had so many injuries and we have lost big players so we have to adapt but it is also a big credit to the players who have stepped up and taken their chances. We need everyone in this whole fight. We are still competing on all fronts and let’s keep this going until the very last moment so we can be successful.
“We cannot take our eye off the ball. We have the quality to punish opponents and we showed that against Brentford.”
It helps, of course, that Liverpool were able to welcome back Mohamed Salah after eight games without their leading scorer, the Egyptian stepping off the bench to set up a goal for Alexis Mac Allister before netting his 19th of the season. It’s now 29 goal involvements in 28 games for the forward this season.
“He should have scored (another) and given me an assist, also – he knows it!” laughs Van Dijk. “But listen, he is a world-class player and at a club like Liverpool, we need world-class players.”
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They also needed tactical variation to finally put to bed their Brentford bogey, with Bees boss Thomas Frank later commenting on Liverpool’s direct approach from which they netted three of their four goals.
And Van Dijk explains: “If you see how they (Brentford) set it up, keeping only one defender at the back and trying to press us high up, we have the players who can hold the ball or deflect it and it was quite successful. We analysed them well and they took the risk. We had to try and make use of it and after the first 20 minutes, we did really well.”
With a clear championship fight having emerged at the top – only four points separate top three Liverpool, Arsenal and City, with the latter possessing a game in hand – Van Dijk has reiterated holding nerve will be a key factor to who emerges as title winners.
