Liverpool daily briefing: Van Dijk on Everton win, Women held at West Ham, Toulouse team hints
The LFC stories you need to know for Monday 23 October...
It’s was a good week for Virgil van Dijk. Having stepped up for his country during the international break, the Liverpool captain did exactly the same for his club as they secured victory in there 243rd Merseyside derby at Anfield.
Van Dijk, undoubtedly, was the star performer as Mohamed Salah’s second-half double gave Jürgen Klopp’s side a 2-0 win over Everton, one which at the time of writing leaves them just a point off the top of the Premier League.
Afterwards, Van Dijk spoke to reporters to reflect on a big win for the Reds, who may have laboured at times against Everton’s 10 men, but who have started finding ways to win again, and who suddenly look a serious proposition once more as a result.
"It was the game we expected,” the skipper said. “The red card [for Ashley Young] changed it a little bit but we had our game plan, we had to be very patient, we had to make sure the defensive organisation was spot on because of the amount of possession we had and the ball up high, what they wanted to do was win it and just kick it in behind.
"We had to be aware of that. They have the players up front to fight for it as well. We did well, we did very well.
"Obviously we are still at the beginning of the season but there are very positive signs, very pleased we kept a clean sheet, won quite comfortably, didn’t give many chances away.”
Van Dijk also spoke about the decision of referee Craig Pawson not to issue a second yellow card to Ibrahima Konaté in the second half, with the game at 0-0.
"A bit of luck? Definitely," he admitted. "What can I say? He could have given it, he didn’t give it. A bit of luck for us. So what can I say? Nothing else. Did we deserve that luck? That's something others can say. I don't know.
"I think with tackles and stuff, that’s for the referee’s to judge. Especially the second I noticed that when there is a decision, we wanted to stay away from the referee and to make sure we don’t get yellow cards for shouting or saying ‘ref yellow for this’.
"That’s something we have influence on and something we should stay away from. We did that very well, especially with the circumstances. Like I spoke about before, we were lucky not to concede a second yellow with Ibou, he knows it but we move on."
So too do Liverpool. To Toulouse on Thursday and to Nottingham Forest on Sunday. They’re back on the bike after the international break, with 20 points from nine games, decent fixtures to come and the growing sense, among players and supporters alike, that something is starting to happen again.
Enjoy the ride, I say.
Hints for Toulouse in U21s draw?
Liverpool’s U21 side was in action on Sunday, and those looking for potential hints for Thursday’s Europa League game with Toulouse may have found a few.
It was a strong Reds side which played out a 1-1 draw with Benfica at Kirkby. Jarell Quansah, Calum Scanlon and James McConnell, all of whom were on the bench for the first team against Everton the day before, all started, as did Luke Chambers, while Vítězslav Jaroš was in goal, Lewis Koumas was back in attack and there was the welcome sight of Kaide Gordon among the substitutes after a recent injury setback.
Tellingly, both Chambers and Quansah were replaced at half time. Both will surely be in contention to start against Toulouse, although Chambers may find competition from Scanlon, who is understood to have seriously impressed first-team staff when asked to train with the seniors. He too played 45 minutes at left back.
Gordon got just under 25 minutes off the bench, a hugely positive step for the 19-year-old, who has missed so much football over the last two years.
McConnell was on the scoresheet for Liverpool, heading in Mateusz Musialowski’s corner in the first half. The young Reds return to Premier League 2 action this weekend with a game away to Leeds United on Sunday (1pm GMT).
Women suffer late disappointment
After their defeat at Anfield in the Merseyside derby last weekend, there was more disappointment for Matt Beard’s side as they conceded a last-gasp equaliser to draw 1-1 at West Ham United on Sunday.
Riko Ueki’s 95th-minute goal broke Reds hearts at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, after Marie Höbinger’s strike had looked to have secured three precious away points.
“Desperately disappointing,” was Beard’s post-match verdict. “I think we performed really well, and we’ve dominated large parts of the game today.
“I just think it shows when you’ve got your chances you need to try to convert them. But credit to West Ham, obviously they kept going. Overall, we’ve performed really, really well and on another day we could have had another two or three, but it wasn’t to be.”
The result sees Liverpool drop to sixth in the Barclays Women’s Super League table, but Beard is still encouraged by his side’s start to the season.
“Seven points is a good reflection,” he said. “I think we should be on more, personally, but it’s a good return for the first four games.
With an international break ahead, it is two weeks until the Reds next take to the pitch.
They host Leicester City at Prenton Park in the WSL on Sunday November 5 (2pm GMT).
Elsewhere…
Alisson Becker’s derby verdict is in, and he was delighted with Salah’s contribution to another big win. "This guy is amazing," he told LFCTV GO. "I'm so glad to have him in our team. I hope he can break all the records that he has in front of him as long as he keeps the red shirt on him!"
Those sentiments were echoed by Jürgen Klopp in his post-match press conference. "I think that Mo Salah played for us an incredible amount of fantastic games,” Klopp said. “Today was not his best game but then [still] being that clinical with the penalty and then staying in the situation, that's probably his biggest quality, and I love that. We need someone who can bring the ball over the line, and he was that again. I couldn't respect that fact more.
"It's absolutely outstanding, the numbers are crazy. He will never stop, that is his nature and that's really cool for us."
And finally, Dominik Szoboszlai was left to reflect on his first experience of a Merseyside derby. “Really good,” he told liverpoolfc.com. “I didn't expect that big atmosphere. It's always nice and always good but today was something special. Some guys told me already it was going to be a good one. We just do always the same thing but even today in everybody's head was like, 'Today's a derby.'“