VIRGIL VAN DIJK says there is room for improvement after Liverpool’s nervy win over Red Bull Salzburg in a seven-goal thriller at Anfield.
Liverpool were given all they could handle by the Austrian side, who stormed back from 3-0 down to draw level in the second half before Mohamed Salah’s winner.
Salah, Andrew Robertson and Sadio Mane scored for the Reds in the first half, as the defending European champions appeared to be on cruise control heading towards half-time.
However, Salzburg pulled one back through Hwang Hee-chan just before the break to give the visitors a bit of hope.
They capitalised on that by adding two more after the break from Takumi Minamino and Erling Braut Haaland.
However, Salah’s late goal spared Liverpool blushes on a day where the Reds were far from their best.
“There’s room for improvement. That’s pretty obvious,” Van Dijk said.
“Obviously they were good, a lot of movement upfront. When there was a second ball, it was theirs every time, especially in the second half, but I’m very happy that we won in the end.”
He added: “You give them credit as well. Salzburg are a good team. They play good football, a lot of pressing, and they kept going, so you give them credit as well.
“Obviously, we can do better, and it’s a sign that we still have to improve.”
Van Dijk will be particularly frustrated with the first goal conceded, as he was beaten by Hwang on the edge of the box
But the Ballon d’Or candidate says he is not too concerned with that one particular sequence, but rather improving a performance that could have led to dropped points for Liverpool.
“We’re not talking about goals that we concede [in the dressing room],” he said. “We just want to do better. We want to score more goals. We want to, especially, get the win, and we did.
Having lost to Napoli in their Champions League opener, Liverpool now sit one point behind the Italian side and level with Salzburg on points through two group matches.
Next up for Liverpool, though, is a return to Premier League action as the league-leaders host Leicester City on Saturday ahead of the international break.
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