Tribal Football

Liverpool captain Van Dijk highlights four players for PSG stunner

Paul Vegas
Liverpool captain Van Dijk highlights four players for PSG stunner
Liverpool captain Van Dijk highlights four players for PSG stunnerAction Plus
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says their substitutes were the difference for the stunning Champions League win at PSG in midweek.

The Reds held on against a dominant PSG before Harvey Elliott, fresh from the bench, pounced for the winner on 87 minutes.

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Reflecting on the round of 16 first-leg win, Van Dijk said in today's match programme notes for their clash with Southampton:  "It is never easy to play away from home in the Champions League, especially against a side with as much quality and intensity as PSG has.

"We knew even before a ball was kicked that there would be times in the game where we would have to suffer, and that we would have to show character, resilience and togetherness.

"We showed all of those things, and of course it helps when you have, in my opinion, the best goalkeeper in the world in your team. Alisson Becker has saved us many times in the past and his performance in Paris was another special one to add to his collection, for sure.

"I must stress, however, that it is always a team effort whenever we win games. And yet again, you saw on Wednesday night that players were able to come off the bench and make a positive impact for us.

"Harvey Elliott and Darwin Nunez combined for the winning goal, but don't overlook the contributions of Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones either. They showed exactly the right attitude coming into a tough game, and helped secure the advantage for us.

"Of course, the job still needs to be finished at Anfield next week. It's only half-time and there is a lot of work still to be done. We expect a really tough test in the second leg, but before that we have the visit of Southampton to what I hope will be an extremely noisy and vibrant Anfield."