It's a long period between games, we want to put it right. "The main difference is we will play at Anfield and we have to make that count. And for results we need good performances. I would love to give the season a little push in this week and we need results for that. "It is a super important week, we cannot ignore that. "Nothing I saw in training suggests we don't have a chance," he said. Having played Wolves twice in the FA Cup, winning the replay 1-0 before that 3-0 league defeat, Jürgen Klopp says his side hopes to learn from their mistakes in that defeat. Liverpool are seventh in the table, nine points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur in fourth place, with two games in hand. Wolves, who were clinical and tactically superior to Liverpool by virtue of the performances of Ruben Neves and Mario Lemina in defensive midfield, have stuttered a little bit since then, beating Southampton with a man down for the vast majority of the match, stinking Molineux out in their 1-0 defeat by Bournemouth and having the better of their game against Fulham without pressing home their advantage. There were a few green shoots heralding a Liverpool revival in their two matches following their 3-0 defenestration by Wolves 18 days ago before the wheels came off again against Real Madrid and they ended their Saturday night trip to Selhurst Park in frustration. Especially as Manchester United will take great pleasure in trying to reawaken talk of Liverpool’s Champions League banishment when they visit on Sunday. Liverpool have turned too many corners only to hit a dead end for Klopp to get carried away by a deserved home win. There were periods where Liverpool’s attackers worked in coordination, the midfielders smothered their opponents in their own half, and Van Dijk reacquainted himself with the art of taking residence in centre-circle and pinging his diagonal pass to the advancing Trent Alexander-Arnold or deputy left back Kostas Tsimikas. This has been a work in progress all season, but there have been enough diamonds in the rough to justify the promise of exciting times ahead.Īlthough Liverpool had to wait to break down a resolute Wolves defence, something vaguely resembling a Klopp side emerged as Van Dijk and Salah - ably assisted by the crowd favourite Nunez - inspired a dominant climax. The more Salah and Darwin Nunez play together, the greater their understanding. Wednesday night was reassuring as he looked more steady at the back alongside the much-missed Ibrahima Konate, while cracking the code in the opposing penalty area as he ended Liverpool's desperate search for the opening goal. The Dutchman has certainly endured a particularly odd season, the rock upon which Liverpool’s quadruple bid a year ago was built having occasionally crumbled.īut amid all the doubts expressed about the longevity of his on-field lieutenants, Klopp has remained steadfast in his belief Van Dijk will be back to himself soon enough. In modern football you might only be as good as the last goal conceded on your watch. Never mind only being as good as your last game. Such cynicism must hurt him as much as it bemuses, a reminder that six years of near flawlessness can be quickly forgotten amid six months of toil. Those questions intensified when Van Dijk provoked an epidemic of eyebrow-raising by being voted by his peers into the world’s best XI earlier this week. Yes, they are being held to a higher standard, but Van Dijk and Salah would not expect it any other way, and they are too good to anticipate extending a run in which their qualities have been doubted. For Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, currently enjoying their sixth consecutive season in the Champions League, it will represent a humbling demotion. With respect, Salah and Van Dijk did not sign new long-term contracts to flirt with UEFA’s third tier and face FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein or Armenia’s FC Pyunik, still a realistic possibility next season despite overcoming Wolverhampton Wanderers.įor other clubs any UEFA qualification is to be celebrated. It is about the self-perception of superstars who believe they belong on the biggest stages, and relish having the red carpet rolled out for them at the annual Fifa and Uefa awards shindigs. With two of their most timely and necessary contributions of the season, the senior Liverpool duo demonstrated they are up for the challenge to salvage a miserable campaign.Ĭatching Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United is not just about Premier League points, or even their club’s Champions League earnings for players of Van Dijk and Salah’s calibre. Call it ‘operation avoid the Europa Conference League’. Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have an unexpected but vital Liverpool mission to execute in the remaining Premier League games.
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