Virgil van Dijk has said he regrets claiming he had proved the doubters wrong after the Carabao Cup final but admits he needed to step up this season as Liverpool’s captain.
The Netherlands international has been outstanding throughout Liverpool’s pursuit of a quadruple and delivered a matchwinning display in the win against Chelsea at Wembley. Interviewed in the immediate aftermath, an emotional Van Dijk said of his man-of-the-match performance: “They thought I was finished.” The comment was in response to criticism Van Dijk received last season, when the 32-year-old accepts consistency eluded him.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” he admitted. “Because I don’t want to have the wrong intentions. That was part of the emotion coming out of me because there were so many emotions going through my whole body that day. Last season was disappointing. Not disappointing in a way that I was bad. I didn’t feel like that at all; I was just below my standards and the consistency wasn’t there that I have had and set for myself in every game. I fully understand the noise that came with it but I am a human being and not immune to any of that. There was a bit of emotion that day but I shouldn’t have said that.
“Maybe in one way it was good to say because it gets it out of me, but I don’t like noise around me. I like to play the game. I just want to be the best I can because things have been going very well this season personally and big credit to all the team given the obstacles we had overcome. I know I play a big part in that, I know I had to step up and I did, and I think after the little change we did last March [when Trent Alexander-Arnold adopted a hybrid midfield role] I am feeling a lot better. The break helped massively in the summer and that brought me into good shape.”
Van Dijk attributes his return to top form to confidence, thriving on the responsibility of the captaincy and an improvement on the ball. “I feel very comfortable this season in every aspect of the game. Obviously confidence is a big driver but in general I think I have made big steps in possession. The manager said the other day that it is not just as simple as wearing the armband and I think there are a lot of things that just clicked again. I feel really good and the responsibility I have has helped that, but I feel that I have made steps again. I made steps in possession, steps in the way I defend and I really enjoy that.”
Jürgen Klopp’s team visit Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday with Mohamed Salah, the leading scorer in the fixture with 12 goals, back to fitness and form in the Europa League rout of Sparta Prague. “Mo is pure quality,” said the Liverpool manager, who is likely to be without Ibrahima Konaté. “Ask him what he likes most about Man United but the more we talk about it [his goalscoring record] the less likely it will happen again. Exceptional guy, world-class player, and how we dealt without him was unbelievable.”
