Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has issued a crystal clear moment to man of the money Rio Ngumoha: Well done, but get back to work.
Yesterday, Liverpool won yet another match in the Premier League. The champions continued their 100% record with another hard-fought win, and Rio Ngumoha got his own personal moment after coming off the bench and scoring the winning goal.
So, Liverpool fans learned plenty about the youngster who shone in pre-season. However, they also learned a lot about Liverpool's defense, spearheaded by Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool's attack has flourished with seven goals in two games, but the defense has plummeted with four goals conceded in two games.
Still, Liverpool's defense has given a word of warning to their attackers.
Virgil van Dijk tells Rio Ngumoha to get back to work
Virgil van Dijk has added to the praise train involving Rio Ngumoha. The captain has congratulated the Liverpool youngster for his first big moment in the Premier League. However, VvD has also warned Ngumoha that his reaction to the moment must be bigger than the moment itself. It's now time to get back to work.
In his own words, Virgil van Dijk said: “I’m very pleased for Rio. I mentioned to him before hard work starts now and he has to stay humble. I’m sure with the players we have he’ll be back training hard tomorrow."
So, it was business as usual for Virgil van Dijk. The five words "I'm very pleased for Rio." was all he could muster up, and the rest, was encouraging him to build on it.
This is the reality of playing for a top-level club, particularly one that wants to win the Premier League for a second season in a row. There's only so much time the players and fans can spend on celebrating wins, before the next one is chased.
Liverpool play Arsenal, who might be their closes title competitors, this weekend. It's a monumental fixture and one which plays an early role in deciding the title race.
Both sets of teams won't want to lose too many points this season but right before the international break, one of (if not both) the teams will drop points. Liverpool won't want it to be them.
So, congratulations to Rio, that was a great moment. But there's work to do before the Arsenal game.