Virgil van Dijk reacts to Liverpool's wild 4-3 victory with huge praise for 'special' talent

Virgil van Dijk was unhappy with his performance during Liverpool's 4-2 win over Villarreal yesterday, after giving the away side their first goal of the night following a misplaced header.

The Reds were lethargic, lazy and sloppy during the first 35 minutes of Liverpool's third Champions League match which they eventually won 4-3.

Rio Ngumoha produced a dazzling first-half performance to drag Liverpool back into contention, setting up Ronald Araujo to restore parity following Alexis Mac Allister’s strike.

The youngster was a constant thorn in the opposition's side throughout a breathless opening 45 minutes, taking the game by the scruff of the neck when his side needed a spark most. 

After Mac Allister had given the visitors confidence to get back into the contest with a neat finish, Ngumoha seized control of Liverpool’s attacking output, driving directly at defenders and forcing the backline into retreat.

His persistence paid off in spectacular fashion just before the break. Picking up the ball out wide, Ngumoha glided past his marker with ease before whipping in a pinpoint delivery for Araujo, who made no mistake in powering home to bring the Reds back on level terms. 

It capped off an inspired individual display from the winger, who's flair and directness proved to be Liverpool's primary outlet during a fiery opening period.

The second-half was much more assured, and another from Mac Allister, then Florian Wirtz's strike ensured Andoni Iraola's side came away with all three points.

The skipper didn't hold back on his assessment of his own performance. Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone, he said:

"Great comeback. Great team reaction...I was waiting for you guys to say something about me personally! [laughs] "

"It was a terrible start and we had to fight an uphill battle. Especially as a defender, it can be pretty difficult to come back from it. Obviously I tried, but it was a bad day at the office, personally, but we do it with 11 players. We turned it around and that's the main thing."

"Unfortunately in life sometimes these things can happen. Fortunately it's not happened too many times in my Liverpool career, but tonight I was not the best, let's say it that way."

van Dijk had two errors in quick succession during the first five minutes of the fixture, and the second of which was punished by Villarreal's Georges Mikautadze.

The majority of the starting XI suffered a poor first half, bar Rio Ngumoha, Trey Nyoni, Jeremy Jacquet and Alexis Mac Allister, but it was the young winger whose performance left many impressed.

Ngumoha showed the confidence, speed of thought and strength on the ball of a player much his senior. And his captain was keen to shower him in praise after the match:

"Outstanding. well deserved man of the match, [he was] Very important for us today, like he was on the weekend as well, so it was really good to see."

"He's pretty electric at times, and he showed it again today. He was a complete threat constantly and their defender had a tough night!"

The 18 year-old became the youngest player since Michael Owen to score or assist in the Champions League for Liverpool. He's in pretty good company, talent wise.

van Dijk also mentioned just how important Mohamed Salah was for Rio Ngumoha's development over the past two seasons:

"Obviously for him [Ngumoha] to work with Mo [Salah] last year was massive, because Mo is one of the best wingers of the club and experienced everything, so why not soak up all the information he had and show it on the pitch and his own qualities.

"I think he's done that so far this season but there's much more to come."

The Dutch defender was keen to highlight the team effort and character shown in coming back from two goals down after such a poor start to the game:

"Yeah definitely, obviously we don't want to put ourselves in the position where we have to comeback from anything.

"But we turned it around and now we have to get ready for the Brighton super team that's coming at the weekend."

And van Dijk's assement would be correct. Brighton haven't lost a game in all competitions since August, where they lost 4-3 to Cheslea.

Iraola's team also can't afford to have the start they did on Tuesday, as Brighton may not be as forgiving.

Fabian Hurzeler's side have scored more than one goal in every game except the 1-1 draw against Leeds.

And ahead of this weekend's fixture, Liverpool's 35 year-old captain emphasised just how important this period of the season is:

"We are coming to a period now, especially November and December, where you can see who is going to be challenging for certain places - but our full focus is on the game ahead of us. "

"Unfortunately we have some injuries, and the games are coming so fast and the run we have now until the international break is so intense. The quality we are going to face is immense....We need everyone as fit as possible and quickly back as well, those who are injured."

The emergence and trust shown in youth players like Trey Nyoni, Ngumoha, Jacquet, Lewis Koumas and one can imagine eventually Giovanni Leoni, will be a key part of keeping as many players fit as possible.

The Reds managed to win despite the absence of Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Munoz, but once they return alongside Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley, competition for places will be rife. And all will benefit from it.

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