Virgil van Dijk Sends Premier League Title Race Warning To Liverpool Ahead Merseyside Derby
Virgil van Dijk has warned his Liverpool team-mates ahead of the Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday. The Reds dropped points for the third time this season after a 3-3 draw at Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Liverpool's lead at the top of the table was cut down to seven following Arsenal's and Chelsea's victories on the night.
Alexander Isak's first-half opener was cancelled out by Curtis Jones soon after half-time before Anthony Gordon put the hosts back in front. Mohamed Salah scored a brace to make it 3-2 for the visitors but Fabian Schar slid home a late equaliser to earn a share of the spoils for Newcastle.
Arne Slot and Van Dijk have both revealed a lack of fight in the first half which saw Newcastle lead, and strong words were exchanged at halftime in the Liverpool dressing room.
The Dutch defender said: "It was a poor first half as a collective, with and without the ball, second half I think we showed what we're capable of. We started winning our battles and 50-50 challenges and obviously scored the goals but unfortunately we couldn't get over the line.
"What was lacking? Challenges. You know when you play here they have an extra edge to their game, their fans feed them, they win their challenges and we were not good at that at all and Newcastle created momentum. At times we were sloppy in possession but we had 50 minutes to put it right and we did but unfortunately didn't get over the line.
"At half-time I had a few things to say and others as well. You can talk about tactics but it was about winning battles and duels and second ball fights and putting them under pressure. We did that in the second half but it wasn't enough to win the game."
Everton head into the league encounter on the back of a 4-0 victory against Wolves and will look to repeat last season's result when they won against Liverpool. The supporters sang to the Reds about how they "lost the league at Goodison Park", however, Van Dijk has played down such taunts ahead of the game.
"Who said that? The Everton fans can chant whatever they want!" Van Dijk said.
“That game was very disappointing in so many ways but Saturday is another opportunity. It's a game they will definitely be up for and we will be as well. I'm really looking forward to going there with our fans and hopefully we get the three points and move on.
"I knew already that we were going to have ups and downs throughout the whole season. This is not a real down, but it feels a bit disappointing. We go home now and tomorrow we'll be back fresh and ready to attack the next challenge."
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LFC Transfer Room Football Correspondent. Covered the fortunes of Liverpool for the past three years. Follow Joseph on X (formerly Twitter) @joseph_agbobli