Virgil van Dijk agrees with Arne Slot on Liverpool change and 'lively' boost as injuries mount

Liverpool boss Arne Slot made it clear that while he was pleased with the result, he didn't feel the performance from his players was up to scratch midweek against Girona, with his assessment of the 2-2 draw against Fulham in the Premier League this weekend seeing things switch around.

On this occasion, Slot said during his post-match press conference at Anfield he was pleased with the performance but less so the result, with points being dropped after Andy Robertson's early red card for bringing down Harry Wilson.

And Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is in agreement with his manager that Liverpool played well against Fulham. Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota scored the goals in front of The Kop in the second half.

• I saw a different side to Arne Slot and it clearly shows what Liverpool needs next

• Mohamed Salah fumed with two Liverpool teammates in injury time vs Fulham

"I think everyone should have felt that," Van Dijk told reporters when asked about Slot's reminder of what he expects. "That game particularly, we started well, then let it go into a basketball game when we could have controlled it.

"It's about how much you want to sprint back and how good is our press. Especially those two things weren't at our standards and we spoke about it. We've seen clips about it and that's a good thing because then you learn from it.

"The will and the resilience [against Fulham] was a good sign, and we had to take a little bit of a risk to get a result, so at times, the pitch will be wide open. We don't want to be in a situation where you take that much risk, but if you are 1-0 down, 2-1 down, you have to.

"It's a brave thing to do, but it was the right thing to do because we have the quality to hurt opponents even with 10 men. It's still a bit of a risk, but we got the rewards from it, and that's the main thing."

The injuries are mounting up for Liverpool at the moment with Robertson suspended but also feeling the knock that he got early on from Issa Diop. Kostas Tsimikas, Conor Bradley and Ibrahima Konate are all sidelined at the moment too with the injuries all coming across Slot's defense.

"Of course," Van Dijk said when asked if he had sympathy for Robertson. "How good was he in midweek? That moment, the first one where he gets the kick on the knee — hopefully it isn't a big injury — that's a dangerous one and in the moments after it happened, it is not easy for him or all of us.

"But we are there for him like always, and he has been so good for us, and he will be still for us. Hopefully, no bad injury, and he can be back in the team and be good again."

In more positive news, Jota returned to action after missing 11 games in all competitions through injury, scoring the second equalizing goal on the day. "We had Jota back... I couldn’t have asked for more," Slot told the BBC. "Jota is so intelligent with his positioning and with what to do with the ball. It was a great team goal. It’s nice to have him back."

"Very pleased for him, very pleased for all of us," Van Dijk said, echoing the thoughts of his manager. "I think he was very good when he came on in that false nine/number 10-ish, very lively, and that's what he brings to the team. Hopefully, he can stay fit and be important for us like he has been in the past. We need everyone to be in top shape, we need everyone to be available.

"You see the injuries we have and it's not easy but everyone has to look after themselves in order to be ready and be important for the rest of the season. It's not an easy job but it's what everyone is trying to do.

"Let's see what happens on Wednesday. I don't know, maybe the manager has to be creative. The injuries that are there we have to accept and deal with. Unfortunate, of course, but hopefully, things will change, and players will come back as soon as possible in the best way."

Liverpool is not the only team suffering from injuries at the moment. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has pointed to injury problems meaning his side is struggling for form, having won just one of its last 10 matches in all competitions.

"It has been mentioned many times already," Van Dijk said. "Injuries are piling up. You see that with different teams, and the amount of games we play. Even the guys who have to play the Club World Cup in the summer, it is a lot of games and then injuries are bound to happen and that could change the quality of games as well.

"But what [Manchester City] have been going through with injuries and inconsistent games, going up and down, we've been there as well and it's not an easy place to get out of and it's not an easy play to be in. I won't speak about them because I don't focus on them but I know how difficult it is to go through that and hopefully we don't go through it but we also have the injuries.

"Whether that is because of the load and all the games you don't know but obviously it plays a big part because it takes a lot of your body, not only playing the game but the traveling, flying up and down the world, but that is football for 2024-25 so you have to deal with it."