Virgil van Dijk calls for Liverpool to make life easier as late winners continue

By Carl Markham, PA

Virgil van Dijk accepts Liverpool are making things unnecessarily difficult for themselves and must improve to avoid having to repeat their trick of scoring late winners.

The captain’s header in the second minute of added time beat Atletico Madrid 3-2 in the Champions League – the fifth match in succession they have scored winners in the 83rd minute or later – but they could have achieved it much easier.

Three times this season they have had 2-0 leads pegged back before going on to snatch a dramatic victory and that will ultimately take its toll physically and mentally.

“I think it was a little bit unnecessary. But Atletico are a team who never give up and have a lot of quality. Then we showed again the resilience we have shown for a couple of years,” said Van Dijk.

“We don’t want to come into a situation where we have to chase. You have to try to go for the win and I think we had the opportunities to kill the game and do better.

“But it is still progress, we are still learning and I am pretty confident we are going to get there.”

Atletico provided the second of three tough tests in a week which began with a trip to Burnley and ends with the visit of Everton for the Merseyside derby.

“It is a challenge. It was another battle against a (Diego) Simeone team which worked their socks off and never gave up and Burnley were very good defensively and kept us out until the last minute of the game,” he added.

“That is playing at the highest level, these teams can make it difficult and Saturday will not be any different.

“Playing against Everton and we all know how difficult it is against them but everyone wants to be playing on this level and it’s another game to look forward to.”

A number of the summer’s new signings will make their Merseyside derby debut on Saturday and Van Dijk will make sure they understand the significance of the game.

“Obviously you don’t let them work it out for themselves,” he said.

“They have a feeling for it but the manager will have meetings, we all speak about it in the next couple of days.

“I’m not worried. The guys who are here played in good stadiums, good games – not the Merseyside derby obviously – but I am confident they will be absolutely fine.”

British record signing Alexander Isak made his full debut against Atletico as he continues to build up his fitness after missing pre-season.

Van Dijk was happy with the Swede’s performance, having given him some words of advice.

“I said ‘Just do your thing and enjoy the whole thing and be important’. That is not obviously just with goals but link-up play and pressing as well and I think that was very good from him.

“It’s just a start. He has to recover and be ready for Saturday, whether he starts or not he will have to be there and ready to help us as well.”