It’s been a pleasant week for Liverpool fans after the Reds’ 2-1 win against Chelsea at Anfield in the Premier League.
As Arne Slot’s side grabbed a Champions League win away to RB Leipzig, there have been some big stories that have come out over the last few days. Here are three of the most interesting headlines that you need to know.
Virgil van Dijk’s Potential Contract Extension
Virgil van Dijk has spoken out stating that discussions have opened with the club concerning his contract.
The Dutchman is out of contract in the summer, with van Dijk being allowed to speak to overseas clubs in January about a pre-contract agreement. The 33-year-old has said that talks are ongoing but his full focus is on winning games with Liverpool.
This is some positive news in a time of uncertainty for Liverpool fans, as Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are also out of contract in the summer.
Liverpool’s No. 4 has been with the club for nearly seven years after joining from Southampton for £75m in January 2018.
Still highly regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the world, van Dijk is an important player in the Liverpool squad and fans will be hoping a contract extension is signed soon.
Arne Slot’s Post-Match Thoughts After Defeating Chelsea
Slot was pleased with the win over an in-form Chelsea side after goals from Salah and Curtis Jones secured a 2-1 win and cemented Liverpool’s place at the top of the Premier League.
Speaking in his press conference after the game, Slot stated that he was happy with the outcome but would have preferred it if the Reds had completely outplayed their opponents.
The Liverpool manager also gave praise to Jones who had a very impressive game in midfield. Slot commended the 23-year-old’s job of marking Cole Palmer who didn’t have a big impact on the game. Jones played a vital role in the middle of the pitch and scored the winning goal.
Finally, Slot was asked about Salah’s outstanding performances so far this season. Slot spoke about how good his goal-contributing numbers are, but he also praised Salah’s defensive contributions, which is an element of the Egyptian’s game which is spoken about enough.
Injury Updates
Liverpool had some squad rotation in the win over RB Leipzig in a midweek Champions League fixture but they now have a crucial game at the weekend against Arsenal. We expected the squad to be rotated for the Champions League game which should allow players to recover and prevent any more injuries.
In terms of current injuries, Diogo Jota didn’t travel with the squad to Germany after he was forced off in the 30th minute against Chelsea. In Slot’s recent press conference, he said that it was too early to tell how long this injury would last.
The other absentees for this fixture our Alisson Becker, Conor Bradley, Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott, all of which are continuing to regain fitness after their injuries.