Van Dijk calls for calm ahead of Community Shield clash with City

Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool need to remain calm after enduring a difficult pre-season so far, with the Reds set to face Lyon and Manchester City within the next few days.

The Dutchman was part of the Liverpool side that lost 3-0 to Napoli in Edinburgh on Sunday, with the Reds once again appearing uncharacteristically weak in defence.

And Van Dijk revealed that he and Jurgen Klopp had a brief on-pitch discussion immediately after Napoli scored their opening goal.

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“It was just things… between me and him. It’s not necessary [to reveal it],” Van Dijk said.

“Sometimes you have to tell someone the truth, that’s how it is. I think everyone has to communicate with each other. It (performances) was quite sloppy at times, but there’s no concerns from my point of view.

“There’s plenty more to come from the team. At times, we showed promising football as well, and there’s a reason why we are European champions. We have to stay calm.”

On the upcoming City game, the centre-back added: “We have to be at our top level. If we play like that, we won’t win the Community Shield, it’s as simple as that.

“As I say, our season starts properly next Sunday, so our focus will be on that. We will definitely be ready for City.

“We didn’t defend counter-attacks well against Napoli, we lost the ball in the wrong moments and didn’t protect it, and if that happens against City, you don’t have a chance.

“We have to defend in a good way because if you don’t defend well against City we can get a proper knock.

“But we know each other long enough and well enough now to know it will be different on Sunday.”

Speaking about the importance of the Community Shield, Van Dijk concluded: “If I have to say this would be the statement for the season, I would be really mad.

“If we win it, good. Will it have an influence on the season? I don’t think so. If we don’t win it, not good. Will it have an influence on the season? No, again, I don’t think so. We have to prove ourselves during the season, not in one game.

“We cannot risk any players. We have to see who will be able to line up and who will train and who will play. It’s a game and, even if we only have eight players available, I would like to try to win it.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com