Virgil van Dijk has shared how he refocused his teammates during half-time of Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Manchester United, drawing on past disappointments at Old Trafford.
With Liverpool leading 2-0 thanks to Luis Díaz’s first-half goals, Van Dijk reminded his colleagues of the previous season’s setbacks against United.
In their two visits last term, Liverpool suffered a 4-3 defeat in the FA Cup after holding the lead twice and were then held to a damaging 2-2 draw in the Premier League.
After the break, Mohamed Salah added a third goal, securing a comprehensive win under new head coach Arne Slot, who achieved this triumph in just his third game at Anfield.
This match also marked Van Dijk’s 200th Premier League appearance, celebrated with a notable victory.
“Definitely [feels extra special],” Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports.
“It’s a proud moment but what pleased me the most, of course, was the performance from start to finish.
“I said it before in the huddle [before kick-off] that we want to enjoy ourselves out there, and the only way to do that is with the hard work we put in when we have the ball, get each others’ quality on show and I think we did that.
“Obviously we gave away two big chances and that is something to improve but overall I think we dominated.
“We should have scored more in my opinion but overall, winning 3-0 I think is a big improvement compared to last year.
“With me personally [last season’s results] was a little bit [in my mind].
“I am not the type of guy who holds any grudges or anything like that but I said at half-time, it was 2-0 up and I think it was the same last year and we gave it away.
“That was something that was not going to happen today, we had to stay focused and I think we did very well and I am proud of the boys.”
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