•Liverpool players
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said the English champions must build from the back after producing their best performance of the season to beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Champions League yesterday.
Before a 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday, Liverpool had lost six of their previous seven games and gone 10 matches without a clean sheet, reports AFP.
Madrid arrived in Merseyside in free-scoring form, but were limited to very few opportunities as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois prevented an embarrassing score for the 15-time European champions.
“It is easy to say now because we won twice in a row. In a world of chaos, you have to stay calm and see the perspective of things,” said Van Dijk.
“We all know how football works — it can change overnight.”
Arsenal lead Liverpool by seven points at the top of the Premier League and have also won their opening four Champions League games thanks to a run of eight consecutive clean sheets.
Liverpool face another huge test of their title defence on Sunday when Van Dijk faces Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who has struck 26 times this season for club and country.
“You can see at the moment Arsenal are flying, and it is down to clean sheets and not conceding chances,” added Van Dijk.
“We have the quality to hurt anyone on the break — it starts with the defending. Today you saw the hard work.
“We have to keep going. Sunday is going to be another difficult one.”
Liverpool boss Arne Slot highlighted the importance of a return to Anfield for his side’s upturn in fortunes over the past week.
Of the Reds’ six defeats this season, only two have come at home, one of which was when Slot fielded a much-changed side against Crystal Palace in the League Cup last week.
“It helps if you can play in front of these fans and you can play in front of Real Madrid because I think that brings the best out of my players and out of our fans,” said Slot.
“A great performance against a team that only lost once all season. It could have been a bit more, maybe.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold was given a hostile reception on his return to Anfield as a late Madrid substitute.
The England international was once a hero of the Liverpool crowd after winning seven major trophies during his time with his hometown club.
Conor Bradley has struggled to nail down his place as Alexander-Arnold’s successor at right-back in an inconsistent start to the season.
But the Northern Irishman was outstanding in locking down the threat of Vinicius Junior, while Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate kept the prolific Kylian Mbappe quiet.
“I said before the game that they have scored 26 goals in La Liga, and Mbappe and Vinicius together have 24 goal contributions (goals or assists),” added Slot.
“If you want to win this game, you have to make sure that these two are not on the scoresheet.
“Conor was outstanding. To be up against Vinicius so many times, one against one, is not for everyone. He did outstanding today.”
