Tribal Football

Van Dijk has high praise for Liverpool duo after Wolves victory

Van Dijk has high praise for Liverpool duo after Wolves victory
Van Dijk has high praise for Liverpool duo after Wolves victoryAction Plus
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk talked up Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate.

Van Dijk was in a great mood after Liverpool went top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Wolves

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He especially encouraged Gravenberch to remain focused after the midfielder picked up another player-of-the-match award.

"(My message is) stay fit, keep going, stay grounded, and don't listen to the praise that much," Van Dijk said post-game. 

"Just stay calm and play well. He is playing with a lot of confidence with and without the ball.

"He has not had a lot of injuries and he is growing into it. He is very important and (Alexis) Mac Allister Mac Allister and (Dominik) Szoboszlai as well. It is a good triangle and they are still growing and learning. We did better in the second half in my opinion. In the first half, we scored the 1-0.

"We controlled the game - we poorly gave a goal away - and that obviously could have been dangerous but we scored very quickly after that and that helps. They have to come out a little bit more and then there is a little bit more space to play."

On Konate, Van Dijk added: "We need everyone to be at their best. Ibou is an amazing, fantastic player who can still be better. He is defensively solid and was a bit unlucky with the goal that we conceded but the qualities he has, he is outstanding.

"He is learning and he is growing, getting better and looking after himself much better, to be ready every three days — and also he has a young player behind him in Jarell (Quansah) who is also a good one, so they keep pushing each other.

"We have a very good squad - a mixture of experience and talent - and players who are at a very good stage of their career. So it is good to see the way we are playing. Mo (Mohamed Salah) was many times in the box and heading balls away and stuff and that is the kind of commitment we need from everyone. So far, so good. But it is only one game and we all realise that. Now we focus on the Champions League (Bologna at home on Wednesday).

"Do I pay attention to the table now? No. December is always a crucial month. The teams who go through that well, winning games and having no injuries, have a big chance to be successful. Let's see."