Van Dijk on attacking trio: “Scoring is something special for them”

Virgil van Dijk thinks that the four goals scored by Liverpool’s front three – Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane – against Red Star Belgrade were suitable rewards for the graft the trio have put in so far this season for the Reds.

Firmino, Salah and Mane have put away 15 goals between them this campaign, despite frequent comparative criticism from the press.

Van Dijk captained Liverpool at Anfield last night in the absence of James Milner and Jordan Henderson, and the towering centre-back helped his side keep yet another clean sheet.

But the Dutchman directly praise towards the forward trio in an interview with LiverpoolFC.com.

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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 24: Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool in Liverpool’s match against Red Star Belgrade at Anfield on 24 October 2018 in Liverpool, England. (Photograph: AP)

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“They have been working their socks off in every game already,” said van Dijk. “Scoring is something special for them.

“It’s good for all of us and I’m delighted for them. Everyone could enjoy [the goals]. It’s good for confidence, it’s very important for the team. The times we scored were very important.

“It was obviously very important to win. After the first 20 minutes we played a good game; we controlled the game, kept a clean sheet and scored a couple of good goals.

“They have some good players and they made it a bit of a chaotic game in the beginning. We needed to adapt to that. But after 20 minutes we did pretty well. We controlled the game; then you need to score goals and see the game out professionally.”

Van Dijk, who partnered the impressive Joe Gomez at the back, was also asked if it was pleasing to keep another clean sheet for his side.

“It is,” he affirmed. “It’s a bit of a trap if you’re 3-0 or 4-0 up; you can maybe lack concentration.

“But we made sure we all kept the concentration together and kept it shut at the back. That was very important for all of us.”

The centre-back also reserved praise for Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri, who had a huge impact on the outcome of the game in their individual positions.

“They were fantastic,” added Van Dijk. “Both of them were full of energy and recovered a lot of balls. They were very important in the game and I’m very happy for them, of course.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com