22 February 2024 , 01:00
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Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is relieved his side got through their win over Luton Town without suffering more injuries.
The Dutch defender helped his side come back from behind on Wednesday night after Luton Town went ahead through Chiedozie Ogbene. The Reds were able to launch a second-half comeback with Van Dijk sparking a glut of goals as Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott ensured a 4-1 win.
It was a more clinical second half display after Jurgen Klopp's side toiled in the opening period with Diaz managing just one shot on target from six attempts at Anfield. The home side were without some of their chief threats in Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.
The latter has been ruled out for a number of months while Salah and Nunez are both being assessed on a day-by-day basis with uncertainty of they well be ready in time for the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea. The trio are Klopp's top goalscorers and make up 46 of Liverpool's goals this season.
It is little wonder that Van Dijk is relieved to avoid losing more options before facing the Blues. The Reds' injury list is 10 names long already.
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He said: “It is important for us to look ahead who we face but today was an important and difficult one in many reasons. I don’t think there was any injuries from tonight and now it is time to focus on the final.”
Van Dijk was happy to see his side's response following a difficult first half and believes such resilience will serve Liverpool well for the remainder of the season. The Reds captain believes his team reacted in an outstanding manner.
Virgil van Dijk powered in a header to make it 1-1 (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)He said: “Nobody was satisfied with the first half. We were rushing in the final third and we didn’t find the right pass. Obviously it is quite normal to become nervous upfront when you are not making the right decisions.
“The reaction shown today was outstanding and something we need for the rest of the season - today was a big one.
“I try to step up from the first second I think it was key to stay calm. Luton are a good side and they play football taking some risks and when we won the ball we had to punish them. Overall it’s a great evening and time to focus on the weekend."
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