Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool face Ollie Watkins and Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday night in the Premier League.
Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk has shrugged off any notions of bitterness towards England’s Ollie Watkins, who famously ousted the Netherlands with a last-minute winner at Euro 2024 last summer.
Van Dijk said: “No. I’m not that, what do you call it, sentimental? Bitter? I’m never bitter.”
“I don’t think about what happened in the summer. Obviously he scored a good goal. I knew he was capable of doing that and unfortunately we couldn’t stop him, but that’s football sometimes.”
Reflecting on the threat Watkins poses, Van Dijk acknowledges the Aston Villa striker’s track record against his team, which includes a sublime hat-trick during the historic 7-2 triumph in October 2020.
He added: “I know how good he can be and I think he’s a very, very good striker, a good finisher. He always makes it difficult for the defenders. It will be a good match-up for all of us.”
A stalwart in Liverpool’s formidable defence under Arne Slot, who is credited with shaping the tightest defence in the league, Van Dijk explained: “The manager wants us to defend in a certain way. We try to do that.”
The Liverpool skipper has emphasised the team’s commitment to solving issues on the field, acknowledging that while not every game is perfect, the squad is united in defence.
“We try to solve it on the pitch. It doesn’t always go perfect, like we’ve seen in so many games this year. ” said the Dutch defender.
“But we are willing to defend together so if our opponents beat the press, we’re all sprinting back in order to not concede any unnecessary chances or crosses.
“But there are also so many things and moments in games when we are doing very well.”
Despite being at the top of both the Premier League and Champions League, Van Dijk insists that Liverpool’s focus remains on continuous improvement.
“It’s all about working each and every day to get better in things that we have to improve because there are still so many things where we could improve,” he stated.
“We all know that as players and I think the manager is also key and is showing that as well.”