Virgil van Dijk has opened up on how Liverpool were able to become just the second Premier League team to prevent Erling Haaland from scoring.
Haaland has scored a astonishing 15 goals in just nine games since he joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund. But he fired a blank at Anfield on Sunday evening, with Liverpool instead claiming all three points in a pulsating clash.
Van Dijk was at the heart of the Reds' defence, which had a slightly makeshift look to it, with Joe Gomez and James Milner both starting. But with the Dutchman leading the way, Haaland was prevented from adding to his goal tally.
In fact, Haaland had just six shots in total, was dispossessed four times and lost all six of his defensive duels. By contrast, Liverpool dangerman Mohamed Salah scored the winning goal 14 minutes from time.
It is a win that takes the Reds up to eighth in the Premier League table and was built on a display of defensive solidity, including a remarkable goal-line clearance from Van Dijk. And the Reds star has now provided an insight into how he was able to stop Haaland, as well as hailing the atmosphere generated by the home support.
"That’s what defenders have to do, tried it, yeah carry on. That’s what you have to every game, you drop off slight percentage they will punish you. We did very well, important to get the clean sheet and move on so we’re focusing on West Ham," he told Sky Sports.
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"It is [blood and thunder] it’s a lot of running, communication. Who wants it more. Today we showed it. Takes a lot, good to get three points. I think it was always going to be very intense, that’s whats been happening over the last years.
"First-half, I thought we played quite well, didn’t give much away, I don’t think we created too much the second-half we defended more but had chances to score on the break. We won, that’s the most important thing. When certain moments happen in the game it [the atmosphere] puts fuel in the fire for us.
"It started with the hardwork we put on the pitch, that’s the minimum for this beautiful club. We showed that, that’s the energy we had back was definitely needed to push us forward and keep the big advantage, they played a big part in this and that’s what we need for the rest of the especially after our difficult start."
It was just the third clean sheet Liverpool have kept in the top-flight this season, with defensive issues being one of their biggest downfalls this term. They will hope that the shutting out of Haaland can be the kickstart their campaign needs.
The Reds host West Ham on Wednesday in their next outing in the Premier League. A win at Anfield over the Hammers could take them up to fifth in the table, if other results also go their way.
