Skip to main content

Liverpool still have plenty to prove, insists Van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk admits it is an exciting time to be a Liverpool player, but warned the Premier League leaders have won nothing yet.
A year on since becoming the world’s most expensive defender in a £75 million ($95 million) move from Southampton, the Dutchman has more than justified his enormous transfer fee by helping to transform Liverpool’s defensive record.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have conceded just seven goals and are yet to be beaten in 19 Premier League games — a run that has enabled them to streak six points clear at the top of the table.
Van Dijk
“It feels like it is an exciting time at Liverpool – and hopefully it will prove to be that as well,” Van Dijk told the club’s website.
“What’s important is we need to keep going; we cannot be satisfied with what we have right now because we have nothing at the moment. We need to keep going, stay humble and work hard.”
Van Dijk’s arrival helped spark a run to last season’s Champions League final, but two huge errors from goalkeeper Loris Karius helped Real Madrid retain their crown as European champions with a 3-1 win in Kiev.
The signing of Brazilian number one Alisson Becker to replace the German has further bolstered Liverpool’s defence, but Van Dijk is still credited as the man who has helped turn Klopp’s side into title contenders.
“Our defensive record this season has been spoken about a lot and I’m definitely proud of it,” he added.
“The entire team has contributed towards it and we should all be proud of the fact we’re trying to keep clean sheets, not only the defence.
“When things are going well people will probably say that I am the one that changed things, but it is not like that.
“But if things are not going well, I am the guy that will get the blame because of my transfer fee. But that’s the life we live as footballers.”
– ‘Huge hunger’ –
Van Dijk has also been named captain of the Netherlands as his reputation around the world has soared over the past year, but he believes at 27 he still has room for improvement.
Breaking: Manchester United sack Jose Mourinho
“I have improved in every aspect of my game I think, but there is still plenty to improve.
“I still have some time to do that I think. I need to keep improving, doing what we’re doing and hopefully achieve good things.”
In contrast to their unbeaten run in the Premier League, Liverpool survived three defeats in their Champions League group to progress to the last 16 where they will meet German giants Bayern Munich.
And Van Dijk believes the pain of losing to Real in May will spurn Liverpool on to win a sixth European Cup in the coming seasons.
“As a player, losing a final can definitely give you a huge hunger to get back there and win it.
“Now I want to do everything that is possible to reach that stage again. It’s tough, but we need to keep doing what we’re doing and hopefully it’s going to happen again one day.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Libya vs Nigeria: Samuel Kalu reveals Super Eagles’ 2nd leg game plan

Super Eagles forward, Samuel Kalu has revealed his team game plan when they take on Libya on Tuesday in the 2nd Leg of the 2019 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifying fixture. The Eagles head to the game after a 4-0 win against the North Africans in the 1st leg played on Saturday in Uyo. Kalu who scored the last goal for Nigeria against Libya in the first leg following Odion Ighalo’s hat-trick said Gernot Rohr’s men will approach the Mediterranean Knights with aggressiveness. ”We are definitely going into that match with a mindset of get all three points. We will approach the match with the same aggressive way like we did in Uyo,” the Bordeaux star told Allnigeriasoccer. ”It’s not going to be easy because the Libyans want to respond to their heavy loss but I am confident we will get the right result.” “I am well pleased to have scored my first goal for the national team,” Kalu added. ”As a young boy playing football on the streets, I always dreamt of scoring for Nigeria, and...

Jurgen Klopp storms onto pitch and rages at Liverpool star after Chelsea lows

Jurgen Klopp  made a beeline for summer signing Xherdan Shaqiri and gave him some animated feedback on his performance in Liverpool’s defeat to Chelsea on Wednesday evening. The Reds took a second-half lead at Anfield in the Carabao Cup through Daniel Sturridge, but were stung late on by a tap-in from full-back Emerson before  Eden Hazard scored an incredible solo goal to put the visitors into the next round. At full-time, Klopp exchanged pleasantries with Maurizio Sarri and the Chelsea bench, but then walked onto the pitch to seek out Shaqiri. The Swiss star had a rather frustrating evening, wasting a number of chances on the break as Chelsea pushed for an equaliser, and Klopp seemed furious with his winger. He stormed past other Liverpool players and shouted at Shaqiri, appearing to admonishing him for some mistakes he made during the match. Klopp gesticulated and pointed wildly, though did shake hands with Shaqiri – who was listening to his manager inten...

Much ado about a 12 year old pregnant South African girl

A pregnant 12-year-old went viral after posting her pregnant photos on social media. The little girl captioned her photos ‘pregnant and proud’ . She has since received mixed reactions from social media users. In a shocking twist,the father responsible is also an underage teenager. He is reportedly 14-years-old and is also seen with the young girl in some of the viral pictures. Check the photos below: