Virgil van Dijk Reveals Why He's Relieved He Doesn't Have to Play Against Roberto Firmino

Virgil van Dijk has insisted he's lucky to have Roberto Firmino on his side as his qualities are ones he wouldn't like to come up against in an opposing

Virgil van Dijk has insisted he's lucky to have Roberto Firmino on his side as his qualities are ones he wouldn't like to come up against in an opposing striker, after another fine display from the Brazilian on Saturday.

Starting on the bench, an injury to Divock Origi saw the striker brought on after 37 minutes, but his impact was immediate as he set up Sadio Mane within minutes of entering the field to grab the Reds' second goal in their 3-1 win over Newcastle.

Bobby's flick 😱
Mo's finish 🤩

Just, WOW! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/dHlVZW5VQi

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 14, 2019

Not content with just one assist, the 27-year-old then set up Mohamed Salah in the second half with a sublime flick as the Egyptian made sure of the three points with the third goal. Such performances from Firmino have earned rave reviews across the board, none more so than his teammate Van Dijk, who revealed he's lucky to have a player of his quality in his side.

“He’s a very important player for all of us,” Van Dijk told BT Sport, via the Express.

“As a centre-back, if the striker is dropping you don’t want to go as a central defender. He is making life difficult for any defender. I think that’s in the world, he’s so good. I am very happy that he’s in my team.”

Having gone behind early on to a superb Jetro Willems goal, Liverpool rallied to secure their fifth Premier League win of the season. However, the Dutch defender claimed it was by no means an easy win, stating the Magpies were a tough nut to crack, despite the apparent comfort of the result.

Michael Steele/GettyImages

“Obviously it was very important to get the three points,” he added. “It was tough to break them down. To be 1-0 down here is not good, but we reacted the right way. We needed to be organised."