Jurgen Klopp said Virgil van Dijk showed his class in a winning return from injury as Liverpool eased to a 3-0 win at Norwich to open their...
Jurgen Klopp said Virgil van Dijk showed his class in a winning return from injury as Liverpool eased to a 3-0 win at Norwich to open their Premier League season on Saturday.
Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah were on target for Klopp’s men as they made a promising start to their quest to take back the Premier League title from Manchester City.
Van Dijk’s cruciate knee ligament injury derailed the Reds’ title defence last season and the Dutchman looked like his old self as he played the full 90 minutes on his return to action.
“You could see all his quality, all his class,” said Klopp. “It was hard for him to play the 90, he’ll need an ice bath for sure and he’ll have enough time to recover.”
Van Dijk’s season and hopes of leading the Netherlands as captain at Euro 2020 were ended a reckless challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in a bad-tempered Merseyside derby despite the absence of fans last October.
The 30-year-old signed a new four-year contract on Friday to celebrate his return to fitness, but recalled the hard days that followed his clash with Pickford.
“Mentally it’s tough. You go from one day being fully fit to the next day you can’t walk, you’re...
