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FBL-ENG-FACUP-LIVERPOOL-EVERTON-VANDIJK
Van Dijk can get even better after dream start – Klopp
LIVERPOOL, Jan 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
believes Virgil van Dijk will get even better after he scored the winning
goal against Everton in a “fairytale” Merseyside derby debut.
Van Dijk headed home six minutes from full-time to give Liverpool a 2-1
victory in their FA Cup third-round tie with the Toffees after Gylfi
Sigurdsson had cancelled out James Milner’s opener from the penalty spot.
The Dutchman became the most expensive defender in the world when he joined
Liverpool from Southampton for œ75 million ($102 million, 85 million euros)
this month and Klopp could not be happier with his contribution in his first
match for the Reds.
“Fairytale in a world with not a lot of fairy tales anymore, so I think
something like that is quite special,” said the Liverpool boss.
“It was a difficult decision to make to be honest because, to be 100
percent honest, the first plan was not to start him but then Dejan Lovren and
Ragnar Klavan played a lot of games in the last few weeks, so I changed my
mind .
“It was a big fight, it was not brilliant football, it was not the most
beauty — it was how cup games should be. It is not about who is the better
side, who can do this or that. Things like this can happen sometimes, but it
is pretty rare.”
Van Dijk was a commanding presence at the heart of Liverpool’s defence,
although Klopp thinks the centre-back has only given a glimpse of his
qualities as he predicted the best is yet to come from the Netherlands
international.
“He showed a lot of things we want him to show in the future very often,”
Klopp added.
“Heading of course, football-wise his first touch was good, good under
pressure and then around set pieces a proper threat,” he added, praising Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain for his corner.
“I think first of all we should help him just to be as good as he is
already because that’s why we took him. You don’t pay that amount of money
for a player and think ‘OK, we can get another 80 per cent’, but of course
there is room for improvement.
“But the first improvement will be to adapt really to the team, how we
deal in different situations. But as I said, since he is in, we spoke more
about it and we did it actually on the pitch.”
Everton manager Sam Allardyce felt his side had done enough at Anfield to
earn a replay after a battling display.
“I’m very disappointed we’re not going back to Goodison and trying to get
through to the next round,” he said.
“We may have saved it late on and I think it was a brilliant effort from
the players, even though we’re disappointed.
“The performance deserved us to be able to take them back to our place,
but that’s not to be.”
BSS/AFP/MRI/0843 hrs