Virgil van Dijk took one glance around the dressing room and realised what Liverpool would need if they are to maintain their unexpected Premier League title challenge.
A raft of injuries and the suspension of Alexis Mac Allister meant Jurgen Klopp’s nine-strong bench for the visit of Brentford on Sunday included three 20-year-olds and four teenagers, three of whom had never before played in the top flight.
Not that it mattered as an impressive Liverpool performance – helped by another stellar Van Dijk showing at centre-back – secured a 3-0 win and moved them up to second place and just a point behind leaders Manchester City, against whom they resume after the international break at the Etihad on Saturday week.
The mouthwatering showdown is a reminder of recent times. But are the Reds, who have been the only team to seriously threaten City’s domestic dominance in the last six years, really ready to challenge again for the title with a new-look side?
“I hope so,” says captain Van Dijk. “I looked in the dressing room (on Sunday) and it felt like we were the under-23s. But still we have the quality, if you are good enough you are old enough. But we need to see, we need a bit of luck, we need no injuries and need consistency.
“Overall this season we have been doing well but the season is not decided in November and there could be so many twists and turns, we all know that. You have all these aspirations, dreams, goals before the season and you want to compete until the very end in every competition we are in. That is definitely the case at the beginning of the season and then you grow into a season.
“There is still so much to play for. It’s going well, but if we had not got a result against Brentford we would have been in that downward spiral – from the outside world, of course – because you don’t set it up nicely for the game after the international break. But we finished on a positive feeling.”
That downward spiral – a dismal 3-2 Europa League defeat at Toulouse after a poor performance in drawing 1-1 at Luton Town – was a first real bump in the road for a Liverpool side that underwent a significant revamp in the summer, with more than £150million spent on four new midfielders and the promotion of several youngsters from the Academy.
It was also the first time the squad had been seriously stretched, with the relentless demands of the fixture schedule seeing Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones join long-term absentees Andy Robertson, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic on the sidelines. With youngsters Bobby Clark and Conor Bradley also missing, Klopp was down to his bare bones.
Liverpool, though, responded with a strong display that means they have lost only one of their 23 Premier League games since losing 4-1 at City in April.
“Obviously we needed to show a reaction and we wanted to show a reaction,” says Van Dijk. “Over two games you don’t have a great feeling but it is small margins. We score one chance and it’s totally different. The draw (against Luton), a very bad game in France and we had to deal with a lot of injuries (against Brentford) but I thought we did very well and put in a good performance.
“The injuries we have got over the last couple of days means using players who are not used to playing every three or four days. It was difficult for a lot of them so now some players will have time to recover and be ready for a very challenging next month. You couldn’t ask for more, 3-0, clean sheet just before the break and end this period in a good way.”
That shut-out was only a fifth in 18 games this campaign for Liverpool, a remarkable statistic given no team has conceded fewer goals in the Premier League this season.
“If we keep a clean sheet we have a big chance of winning games with the quality up front,” says Van Dijk. “For us as a back four and the goalie and number six, it is our big job. We have to make sure we don’t concede. Sunday was a good day for it and we have to keep that going and keep things consistent.”
While Mac Allister will be available after serving his one-match ban, Klopp will also hope to have some of his injured players back for the trip to City, the third time this season Liverpool restart after the international break with an early 12.30pm kick-off.
“Sunday was a big one for many reasons, we did that well and when we come back there is a very big one away and we will see if we are ready for that test,” adds Van Dijk. “It’s always tough over there, especially coming back from all different countries. It’s exactly the same for them, although they have the advantage of playing at home. Hopefully everyone will come back fit from their games and it’s an early kick-off so we have to be ready for it. It will be an interesting one.”
