Chapter 1: What were the highlights of Liverpool's 2-0 win over Wolves?
Hello, yes, we're down here with Virgil van Dijk. Hello, Virgil. Another clean sheet and a goal. Which one's more pleasing?
The win. I think the win was very important today. Wolves is very good. They've shown it all season. Especially the first half, a couple of times we were very...
not well on the ball and then we lost the ball too easy especially to the middle and they uh they did it they did it well so big credit to them but um yeah we won the game so that's the most important thing i know gary wants to concentrate on the defensive side of your game but let's talk about the goal because it's your first league goal for liverpool having scored on your debut in the merseyside derby in the cup to get your first league goal though how good does it feel
That's amazing. It was a bit of a tough day for me anyway, I had a bit of a cold, so I wasn't 100%, but, you know, these nights are very important for us, and, yeah, we won here, and obviously that's a big step for us.
The defensive change in Liverpool in the last 15 months has been incredible, only seven goals conceded now before Christmas, which is a record. What are you doing in training differently? Are you working more on the defensive side of the game?
Well, I think this period we don't train too much, but we know how to grind games out. I think we know how to keep it tight, especially with our midfield in front of us. And obviously teams are getting dangerous, but it's how we react. And I think today, obviously a couple of moments where they were dangerous, but...
We did well. You've had four different centre-back partners this season whilst playing for Liverpool. You're the constant. Do you have to adapt your game slightly to different people that you play alongside? Not really, though.
I think all my partners are very good, and it's a joy to play with all of them.
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Chapter 2: How did Virgil van Dijk feel about his first league goal for Liverpool?
You see, throughout the whole season already, I'm enjoying every bit of it. I'm lucky that we have Joel and Joe out for now, but Dejan is doing fantastic as well. He's doing it since I've been coming in anyway, so it's good to play with them.
We saw the manager coming over to have a few words with you at full-time. What was he saying?
things that nobody needs to know. Yeah, well, you know, discuss things and we are obviously very happy that we won.
Virgil, thanks so much for joining us. Going to take lots of vitamin C. Thank you. Good to hear from Virgil van Dijk, a goalscorer for Liverpool in their 2-0 win over Wolves here at Molineux. It's another clean sheet for them. They've only conceded seven goals at this stage of the season and it means they stay top of the league
They're four points clear of Manchester City, which means that Liverpool will be top on Christmas Day. Wolves stay in seventh place with 25 points from their opening 18 games. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah on target for Liverpool in their 2-0 win over Wolves here at Molineux. It means that Liverpool are top of the Premier League table.
They're four points clear of Manchester City and they will be top on Christmas Day. Gary, you've been in this position before. How significant is that that they're there at this time of year?
I think it's significant but I also think that tonight was a potential problem for Liverpool a problem match where other teams have sort of stumbled and they've come through with flying colours weren't at the best in the first half but they've managed the game out in the second half perfectly got the second goal and we said in the last couple of weeks this is a far more rounded Liverpool team who don't always have to be at their best it's not all about just the front three anymore they have a real sort of
support network from behind the goalkeeper does well the back four are fantastic and to only concede seven goals if you said to me that a Liverpool team would only concede seven goals by Christmas 18 months ago I would have said you're mad it's a complete about turn
Jamie, in terms of their position now, it's nowhere near done and dusted. We're still only in December. But with Manchester City as close as they are, Liverpool can't afford to drop points anywhere, can they? And having drawn here Manchester City, the importance of Liverpool winning here is almost increased.
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Chapter 3: What defensive strategies have Liverpool implemented this season?
Let's take a look at their first goal, because as much as we've talked about how Liverpool have improved defensively, they did allow Wolves to have a lot of chances against them. So how important was it that they got the goal when they did from Salah?
It was. They weren't creating too many chances, but it's all about Salah. I mean, he takes the free kick on one side, And the movement and the desire to get in the box. He actually makes a run earlier because he thinks the ball's going to come in from Fabinho. Fabinho then makes a run. His movement is absolutely fantastic. You see it now. Gary mentioned the half-time.
Connor Cody just drops to see where he is. And that's the right thing to do. I've been in that position. That's what you have to do. But he's so sharp, so quick. And to get the touch that he does. I mean, you mentioned it was more than a flick, wasn't it?
Yeah. I think that absolutely tonight, I think, was symptomatic of Liverpool, this new Liverpool, where they're not at their best, but they can go in 1-0 up, which they wouldn't have been able to do 18 months ago.
Oh, hello. Jurgen Klopp joins us now. Jurgen, good to see you. We were talking about the first goal when you joined us, but first of all, the big thing is that you're Christmas number one. But look, it's not the same as winning the league. We know that, but how important is it?
Oh, that game tonight, it was unbelievable difficult. It was a big fight, then the circumstances, the rain and all that stuff. The pitch, I thought, it looks really nice, but it's a bit deeper than our pitch, it's a different kind of grass. You saw that all the shots tonight were like 50% power, a lot of passes, I thought, what are they doing? So it was difficult.
We need to be ready for a big fight, not for a nice football game. The boys were ready. In games like this, set-pieces are always decisive. We knew that, we set it a lot before the game in half-time again. The first goal was brilliant, because it wasn't just quick in mind, using the situation. I think Mo shot the free-kick and then it's the guy in the box, so it's difficult to mark him then.
So that was cool, the little passes between Milly and Fabinho on the right side, or Sadio and Fabinho, it was good. Second goal as well, brilliant, and we didn't give them much away. They had chances, of course, because it's a coincidence a bit. The ball bounced this direction, that direction, and for their style of play they didn't have a lot.
It's difficult to play, everybody wants to press these times, everybody wants to be compact, and they shoot the ball from one side to the other, so it's quite difficult, and they're good in that. So I thought we did well. We deserved to win and we were the better side. That's all cool. But that the boys showed again that we are ready for these different games, that makes me really happy tonight.
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Chapter 4: How significant is being top of the league at Christmas for Liverpool?
They'll be privately very happy and they'll be confident that they can go all the way with City.
Hello, welcome back to Molineux, where Liverpool have beaten Wolves by two goals to nil, and it is another clean sheet, Jamie. We've talked about the defensive performance from this team, and Gary was asking Jurgen Klopp about the difference, because the improvement preceded Van Dijk, but it's kicked on since he arrived, and then again since Alisson arrived.
What difference do you see in Liverpool defensively?
Well, Van Dijk, of course, the goalkeeper. This is still early days for the goalkeeper, only 18 games into the Premier League, but there's no doubt in Van Dijk. He makes other people play better around him. I think that's always a great sign of centre-backs. Even go back to when I was a kid, it was Tony Adams made the rest of that Arsenal back four look a lot better.
And the way he dealt with these situations was brilliant watching. It's a position... I obviously played, but there he had to extend himself. In the first half, he shepherded him wide, but when he had to put the afterburners on, show the strength, he did. This was different. He felt he could take Jimenez on, had too much power for him. That's why he went for that ball.
So it's not just his physical attributes, it's the decision-making as well. And he scored a great goal, I think, for Holland a few weeks ago. His goal-scoring record isn't great, really, for someone the size of him, going up for set-pieces. You know, you want that to improve. It could be a big weapon for Liverpool going full.
But in terms of the type of goal he got there in the second half, how many centre-backs would panic there, put it over the bar?
Just a question on Liverpool. You're obviously a lot closer to it. Have they changed something internally in the last 18 months? Is he doing more work on the training pitch defensively?
Well, I think if I go back to the start of Klopp's era, they were very weak set-piece-wise. That's massively improved. Now, Van Dijk has a big effect on that. 6'4", centre-back in there. but they were continually getting caught on counter-attacks all the time and getting caused massive problems.
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Chapter 5: What challenges do Liverpool face in maintaining their league position?
Now, it happened two or three times tonight. That was more through poor passing, really, than the set-up of the team. Now, the full-backs, I think, are slightly more conservative than they seemed under Jürgen Klopp when he first came on. Also, maybe having Coutinho in the centre of midfield not real centre midfield player, but part of a three, maybe more licensed as a free role, really.
Liverpool now, at times when they play a three, it's more of a Milner, Henderson, Wijnaldum, so it's probably a little bit more protection. At the moment, he's actually playing two centre midfield players, whether that's Fabinho and Henderson, Fabinho and Wijnaldum, so it seems like there's better protection, I think, in there, because I just didn't see this coming.
Yes, I thought Liverpool was improved defensive with a Van Dijk, with a goalkeeper, but to be where they are defensive-wise and the stats, I mean, there's a... a team I think your dad played in. I mean, this is the Premier League record. I mean, you think of those great defenders who were at Chelsea, and Chelsea was probably more of a defensive side than this Liverpool team.
But the reason I mentioned the Liverpool team I think maybe your dad played in the late 70s was they actually only conceded 16 goals in a season. You think that'll never be beaten. Impossible. Well, that Liverpool team at this stage has only conceded seven goals. So they're actually on for breaking club records that you'd think would never, ever be beaten.
I think that's just testament to the players at the back, but also Jürgen Klopp for doing something that I didn't think he was capable of when he first came in.
Let's take a look at that Carragher-esque goal then from Virgil van Dijk at the right end of the pitch.
Obviously, I've watched him a lot, Virgil van Dijk, now in the last few months, but tonight we had a really good view of him in this second half, and he's absolutely immense, and he's immense in both boxes. You see him heading it out of his own box. And you see him here, he just steps away from the game as it comes out.
And then as the Wolves defenders are sort of trying to push out, he's arriving in. And it's the timing of the run, like a centre-forward would make the run. And then it's the finish, it's the composure. It's not an easy one, but he manages to sort of control himself and get a good contact on it. And it was worthy, to be honest with you, tonight of Liverpool.
If you think about what they're doing now, they're winning games with nil against them. And you thought in that second half there was a period where this could be tricky. At 1-0, Wolves could come, but they just went and got that second goal and took the game away from Wolves and they're making things a lot more simple for themselves.
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Chapter 6: How did Jurgen Klopp assess the team's performance against Wolves?
How good is he?
Well, yeah, he's unreal, to be fair. Better than me?
Are you laughing now?
Just a little bit.
LAUGHTER
No, he's a top, top player. He has made a big difference, of course. And, yeah, he's gone from strength to strength. He's a really good character as well in the dressing room. He's a leader. And you can see that in his performances on the pitch. And he's been a big plus for us. But so has the other players that I've played. You know, Dejan, who's played alongside him.
Joe Gomez, Joel, who's come in and played there, have been really solid as well and played really well. So... I think the squad death's a big thing, and everybody needs to just keep going, and even if you're not playing, you need to just get on with it and make sure you're ready in the next game, because ultimately everybody wants the same thing, and that's to win and be successful.
Nice way to mark your 300th appearance, Jordan.
You're making a sound wall now. No, yeah, of course, nice to win, but that doesn't mean too much to us. I can look back on that after when I'm finished, but now I'll just concentrate on playing football.
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