“He always gives teams problems, Chelsea is lucky to have him” “He hurts us everywhere on the pitch” – Virgil van Dijk praises ONE Chelsea star after his outstanding performances in 3-1 win over Liverpool
Liverpool suffered a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea. The match, which was expected to be a celebratory occasion for the Reds, instead highlighted underlying issues within the squad.
Chelsea took an early lead with Enzo Fernandez scoring just three minutes into the game. The Blues extended their advantage in the second half through an own goal by Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah. Although Virgil van Dijk managed to pull one back for Liverpool late in the game, Chelsea sealed the win with a penalty goal from Cole Palmer, ending his personal scoring drought .
Post-match, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk expressed his frustration but hails Chelsea star Moises Caicedo for his outstanding performances in Chelsea win over Liverpool. stating,: “We tried our best to win the game but Chelsea are really a difficult team , despite trying to penetrate it was so difficult because of Moises Caicedo, ee always gives teams problems, Chelsea is lucky to have him ,He’s everywhere on the pitch makes it difficult for us to penetrate”.
He continued: “I think possession was quite good, but when we didn’t have the ball the pressing wasn’t great and they could find between the lines,” Van Dijk said, speaking to Sky Sports.
“To concede that early is not great, but if we start to play the way we want to play then we can create chances. There was chances for us to score – in the end they deserve the win. That’s the disappointing thing as we came here to win.
“Obviously we tried, but it wasn’t great.
“The way we trained, the sharpness that we had, everyone was ready for it.
“We know it was going to be tough at times. We could have done better in the way we defended as a team, but we will analyse it tomorrow and prepare for the next game.”
Van Dijk was full of praise for Chelsea, whose rotations caused problems for Liverpool all afternoon.
“They rotate a lot. Moises Caicedo plays as a right-back, but he’s a midfielder. They try to rotate a lot, it needs a lot of communication and yes, you know, there will be difficult moment and defeat hurts.
“We are very fortunate that we didn’t lose that many games in the league and this hurts. And it should hurt.
“Even when the job is done we came here to try get a good result. It has to hurt. I’m definitely disappointed.”
This defeat was particularly notable as it marked the first time Liverpool lost a Premier League game in which Van Dijk scored—a streak that had lasted 20 matches since December 2018 .
Liverpool manager Arne Slot had made several changes to the starting lineup, resting key players like Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. This decision, aimed at preserving fitness for upcoming fixtures, may have contributed to the team’s lackluster performance .
Chelsea’s victory boosts their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, as they now sit fifth in the league, equal on points with fourth-placed Newcastle United but behind on goal difference .