Virgil van Dijk sends Liverpool message and ‘can’t deny’ Steven Gerrard claim

Virgil van Dijk’s header helped secure Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Sunderland as Steven Gerrard agreed the victory was huge in their pursuit of qualification for the Champions League

Steven Gerrard has backed Virgil van Dijk’s assessment that Liverpool’s 1-0 victory at Sunderland proved crucial in their battle for Champions League qualification, whilst emphasising significant improvements remain necessary. The Reds bounced back at the Stadium of Light following last Sunday’s 2-1 setback against Manchester City at Anfield.

Positioned sixth with 42 points, every mistake now carries weight in their European football ambitions. Yet Van Dijk’s match-winning header propelled Liverpool above Brentford, who take on table-toppers Arsenal on Thursday evening.

Liverpool now trail Chelsea by just two points, with the Blues holding fifth spot – a position that appears sufficient for Champions League qualification. Speaking to TNT Sports after the final whistle, the Dutch skipper said: “Can’t deny that [the win] feels very big, but there are still 12 more games to go so we’ve got to keep improving, trying to find consistency.

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“We have to try and keep building, try and stay fit and stay confident and keep improving. Today was a great step forward with and without the ball so now we recover.”

Gerrard, working as a pundit, shared Van Dijk’s sentiment, highlighting the significant progress made. “A big night,” he stated. “They are chasing the Champions League places. It’s so important for them. They came here tonight under pressure and thoroughly deserved the win.

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“They won it from a set piece. A great header from van Dijk – he steps forward again. Huge for Liverpool. I think to a man, defensively they were much improved.”

The outcome also represented the Reds’ first clean sheet since their scoreless stalemate at Arsenal at the beginning of January. In the subsequent four Premier League fixtures, Arne Slot’s team let in five goals, coming as a huge boost to the Reds and their chances for the season.

It ended Sunderland’s unbeaten home run and came as an important win for Liverpool, as they look to push on and find some form. That left Slot pleased with his side’s performance, even if it was a tight battle at points, as he spoke to the press after the victory in the north-east.

“It didn’t feel to me at all as a struggle because I think we played really, really, really well again,” the manager said. “We didn’t face the weather, we faced Sunderland, who were until tonight unbeaten at home.

“They are a good team, [have a] good manager and [have a] difficult playing style to play against because, as we know from the game we played at home against them, it’s a lot of long balls you have to defend and a lot of balls into the channels. I think we did that really well.

“We controlled the second ball really good and from that second ball we played some very good football. What I’m getting used to more and more now is that we miss a lot of chances, which we did tonight again.

“But the big exception for us tonight compared to all the other games we played against promoted teams, or teams that we were the better team, we were not able to score from a set-piece. Usually we concede one, but tonight we could score and that’s the difference for us in this game.”

The Reds have a favourable run of fixtures on paper, with clashes against Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Wolves and Tottenham coming up – four of the bottom five. That could give Liverpool the run they need to get a place in the Champions League for next season.

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