Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, and Jarell Quansah received high praise from Virgil van Dijk for their’major role’ in Liverpool’s thrilling comeback victory over Newcastle United last weekend.
The recently chosen Liverpool captain didn’t have the ideal performance during the team’s trip to St. James’ Park last week because he was sent off quite early in the game.
With an hour remaining with Newcastle trailing by a goal and a man, Van Dijk’s dismissal turned the tide in their favor. The Reds’ position in the game was quite hopeless even at 1-0.
Darwin Nunez grabbed the attention with a wonderful late brace to steal a famous victory, but Liverpool were able to retain a clean sheet for the remainder of the game thanks to assured performances by Matip and Gomez, as well as a late but useful cameo by youngster Quansah.
Nunez has been the topic of conversation ever since, but Van Dijk has made sure to recognize his defensive teammates for their resilience and flexibility in the face of adversity.
It should be obvious that I’m disappointed.
But even though Jarell was playing in his debut game at this level, he displayed a degree of maturity on the field that gave the impression that he had already made 50 appearances.
“This is what I mean by putting our team’s players in good hands. They will have the finest chance to demonstrate their abilities if we do that, just like the manager did with Jarell at a crucial juncture in a very challenging game.
