Virgil van Dijk emphasized that the Liverpool squad did not view the postponement of Saturday’s Merseyside derby as an unexpected advantage, even though it provided a brief break during a hectic schedule. He also highlighted that no one at the club is underestimating Chelsea’s potential to challenge for the Premier League title, especially after the London side narrowed the gap to four points behind Liverpool last weekend.
Van Dijk and his teammates learned at around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday that the game against Everton had been canceled due to Storm Darragh’s impact on Merseyside, with safety concerns cited as the reason. The postponement created an unexpected 10-day gap between Liverpool’s league fixtures, allowing extra recovery time for their injury-stricken defense. However, the Dutch defender made it clear that the team did not see the cancellation as a welcome relief.
“We didn’t view it as a gift,” Van Dijk said. “We wanted to play the game, get a good result, and keep our momentum, but safety had to come first. We’ll face them again, and we need to be prepared.”
Van Dijk also acknowledged Chelsea’s growing presence in the title race after their victory over Tottenham, saying, “I don’t think Chelsea are flying under the radar. With the squad they have, including their bench options, they have the quality to challenge any team. They’ve proven that consistently.”
Reflecting on the unintended free day, he added: “I watched the latter part of Chelsea’s game against Tottenham and spent a relaxing afternoon with my family, which was much more important than football in that moment.”
Speaking after Liverpool’s 1-0 Champions League win over Girona, which solidified their group lead by three points, Van Dijk expressed satisfaction with the result despite moments of difficulty. “We made it a bit harder for ourselves than it needed to be and relied on Alisson more than we should have. But overall, we did the job, and that’s what matters, especially during this demanding period.”
Regarding Liverpool’s remaining group-stage matches, Van Dijk suggested that they might offer opportunities for less-utilized players to step in, though he left the decision to manager Jürgen Klopp. “It’s still the Champions League, so we’ll see what the manager decides,” he said.
Leave a Reply