Liverpool defenders held their fort impressively on Saturday against Burnley as the Reds made it two wins from two games in the Premier League.
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Liverpool continued their impressive start to the new season, winning back-to-back matches in the Premier League. Following up the opening weekend success at Norwich City, Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners against Burnley on Saturday thanks to goals from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane. The Reds have taken maximum points and registered consecutive clean sheets to begin the 2021-22 campaign. The attackers might get most of the praise, however, the Liverpool backline’s contribution cannot be forgotten. “Obviously to win the first two games with no goals conceded is just a good thing, something to build on,” Virgil van Dijk told Liverpoolfc.com.
“We’re not there yet, we feel that, but the only thing we can do is try to win the game in front of us and that’s what we did today. We knew it was going to be very tough, it’s always been tough against these guys. They play a certain way, they make it very difficult for us and they did today again. A lot of physical battles, a totally different challenge to last week. It was good to get the clean sheet again and something to build on, good things. There are some things that should be better, but to win here today with the fans back is just great.”
On Saturday, Virgil van Dijk once again formed a steady central defensive partnership with Joel Matip. Later in the game, centre-back Joe Gomez made his return to competitive action as a substitute. Speaking after the match, the Netherlands captain is buoyed by the club’s backline understanding. “All the centre-backs we have at the moment, whether it’s Joe or whether it’s Ibou, we all understand each other quite well. That’s very important on the pitch,” said van Dijk.
“Today [was] the same. Joel, we played together for a while now so we know our qualities, we know the things we can complement each other with. It’s always tough against any opponent in the Premier League, today was nothing different. So, we’ll build on it, gain confidence, keep working hard and progress together.”
Virgil van Dijk also underlined the important role Liverpool fans can play this season after seeing a packed Anfield crowd cheering them on Saturday against Burnley. The Reds treated their stadium’s first capacity crowd since March 2020 to a victory that makes it six points from two Premier League games this season.
Jota’s 18th-minute header from Kostas Tsimikas’ cross gave the home team an early breakthrough. The hosts then pushed hard for a second goal after the break and finally got their reward. A flowing team move concluded with Mane placing a shot beyond Nick Pope.
After the match, Van Dijk expressed his delight to see the constant backing of the supporters. “Even an early kick-off, to see all the fans back is a big buzz. We all enjoy it,” the No.4, whose personal unbeaten record in the league at Anfield now stands at 48 games, added.
“It’s something that hopefully is going to be normal again because we need the fans – whether it’s at home games but also the away games, we need the atmosphere of fans. We’ve seen how football is, it belongs to the fans, with the fans. I’m just glad everyone is back.”
