“That’s how it started and second half we dominated” – Van Dijk opens up on what Klopp told Liverpool players at half-time to inspire comeback win
Virgil van Dijk opened up about the events that took place in the Liverpool locker room during halftime after they stumbled two goals down against Villareal on Tuesday, May 3. The Reds ultimately scored three goals within 15 second-half minutes to complete a 5-2 aggregate victory.
It was a shocker for the Reds and their fans as Villarreal came from a two-goal deficit in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final to level the aggregate score before halftime in the second leg. The hosts were attacking with vibrance and it looked as though the visitors would, against all odds, be kicked out of the Champions League by the underdogs.
LIVERPOOL REACH THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
The quadruple is still on 🏆 https://t.co/WrEKykKqEl
However, Liverpool rallied in the second half, stunning the Yellow Submarine and scoring three goals to finish the tie with a 5-2 aggregate score.
Speaking to BT Sport (via Express), Van Dijk revealed Jurgen Klopp's halftime words which inspired the comeback that saw the Reds take a seat in the Champions League final:
"[He said] Play football, play the Liverpool way, basically how we've been playing all season."
"Get on the ball, have a lot of movements on the ball but also behind the last line, they play a high line."
"So with the speed we have, we have to mix that up as well."
"But also you have to show how much you want to go to the final."
"That's how it started and second half we dominated and played so well."
What a season for Jürgen Klopp's Reds! 👏
• League Cup 🏆
• Champions League final ⏳
• FA Cup final ⏳
• Just a point away from top of PL 🏁
The unprecedented quadruple is... ON! 👀 https://t.co/7LSH5CfoED
Now that the Reds are in the final, they will have to wait for their opponents to be revealed. Manchester City and Real Madrid will clash on Wednesday (May 4) night at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The winner will meet with Liverpool in the Champions League final in Paris on May 28.
Loris Karius will leave Liverpool as the Reds head into another Champions League final
Infamous Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius will likely depart the club this summer, with his contract set to expire in June. The out-of-favor goalkeeper has spent much of his contract away from Anfield and now has the chance to rejuvenate his career elsewhere.
Karius has seen his Liverpool career go down the drain after his high-profile errors in the Champions League final against Real Madrid in 2018. He was signed from Mainz to provide competition for another relic of Anfield's past: Simon Mignolet.
Following their loss to Real Madrid, Jurgen Klopp strengthened the goalkeeping position with Alisson Becker, while Karius fell completely out of favor. The subsequent emergence of Caoimhin Kelleher and other goalkeepers (Adrian) eventually saw Karius drop down the pecking order at Anfield.
While the 28-year-old went on more than his fair share of loans after his 2018 final debacle, he never established himself in any new teams and his future is still up in the air. Karius will hope to reignite his career and get back to regular football as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, for the Reds, the departure of the goalkeeper is likely to be muted, with the forgotten German unlikely to command a lot of positive nostalgia.