Revealed: Van Dirk exposes Liverpool weapon which sparked the domineering second half performance vs Villarreal.
- what manager Jurgen Klopp said at halftime.
Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dirk has revealed one weapon that has helped the Kop to an amazing season as they chase success in all competitions this term. The Dutch defender also credited Manager Jurgen Klopp’s half time talks for the turnaround at Villarreal.
Liverpool fought back from a 2-0 deficit at half time to defeat Villarreal 2-3 and progress to the final of the UEFA Champions League with a 5-2 aggregate score thus keeping their Quadruple hopes alive.
The half-time message from Jurgen Klopp that inspired Liverpool to get themselves out of trouble and book their place in the Champions League final has been a weapon throughout this season Virgil Van Dirk revealed in his post match interview.
The message was ” Play the way we’ve been playing basically all season. Get on the ball, have a lot of movement in the box and behind the high line. But also, show how much we really want to go to the final. That’s how it starts. ”
This system has helped Liverpool to Carling Cup glory, final of the English FA Cup and UEFA Champions League plus a possible EPL title win as they sit just a single point behind Manchester City. Villarreal and every other team have always had problems when the Reds played ” The Liverpool way “.
Van Dirk spoke further of what happened after Jurgen Klopp’s team talks at half time. He said “Second-half we dominated and played so well.”
“In the first-half we didn’t play football. There wasn’t enough movement so we made the wrong decisions, and then you lose the ball in difficult situations. The early goal after three minutes put even more pressure on ourselves “. He said.
The Defender went further to play down expectations over a Quadruple this term and said it has been an ” Exceptional season already ” even without the glorious final lap in view.