Virgil Van Dijk gives surprising three-word response to Liverpool statistic
Liverpool won 1-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday lunchtime with centre-back pair Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate managing to keep the Eagles at bay at Selhurst Park
by Tom Victor · The MirrorLiverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was surprised to learn his team has the best defensive record in the Premier League after their win at Crystal Palace.
Diogo Jota scored the only goal of the game at Selhurst Park, with Arne Slot's side keeping a fifth clean sheet in seven league games. Nottingham Forest's Callum Hudson-Odoi and Wolves' Rayan Ait-Nouri are the only opposition players to score against the Reds, though they have conceded in the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
After the latest win, Van Dijk spoke to TNT Sports and was told the Reds led the league defensively as well as on points. “Is that right?" was his response.
Liverpool face a tough run of games after the international break, starting with Chelsea at home on October 20. Palace caused them a few problems as well, though, and the Dutch international gave Oliver Glasner's side credit.
"It is hard to come here. The results over the years are tight and close," Van Dijk said. "I think obviously we scored a fantastic goal. We could have done better in the second half, but we knew they'd come out with a bit of pressure on the ball. "It ends our run on a high before the internationals."
"We keep going and we keep working," he said when asked about the defensive strength. "We are never satisfied. We needed [Alisson] twice, but that is what we try to avoid. Everyone is contributing to clean sheets.
"I think there is always expectations towards different teams - whatever the outside world thinks of us we don't really care. We want to try to challenge, compete, win and be successful."
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Van Dijk was at the centre of a contentious moment in the second half. He had a hold of Marc Guehi's hand inside the Liverpool box, but the officials didn't deem it worthy of a penalty - despite Palace boss Oliver Glasner's objections.
"I saw from TV we should have had a clear penalty for the foul on Marc Guehi," Glasner said. "He [Virgil van Dijk] holds him with two hands. It is a loss, but in the second half it gives me a lot of confidence for the upcoming games. It is clear when Marc makes the movement to the ball. If the same foul is on the halfway line it's a a foul - if it's foul, it's a foul."
Slot saw things differently, though, saying: "The ball is going to the goalkeeper. If he [the referee] had given this one then VAR wouldn't have changed it. It is not a penalty for me as he [Guehi] wouldn't ever get the ball."
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