Isak struggled last season? Van Dijk: That narrative is a bit absurd and needs to change

In the first round of the Champions League league phase, Liverpool defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1 at home. After the match, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk spoke to CBS Sports in an interview.

What kind of match was it against Atletico Madrid?

It was a tough match, and the opponent can always cause us huge problems. It feels like over the past nine years, we have faced them almost ten times in the Champions League, and that seems to be the case. Every time we play them it is extremely difficult, but I think we handled the situation on the pitch well. We made many adjustments in the forward line during this match, and it is very difficult to stay completely in sync from start to finish. So at certain moments you have to play more aggressively and be willing to take risks in pressing. That risk paid off, and it was a good start to our Champions League journey this season.

Tell us about your attacking group. This was the first time we saw Rio Ngumoha, Bradley Barcola and Alexander Isak start together as a front three. How do you think their combination performed?

I think they performed very well. Obviously there is still room for improvement, but as you said, this was their first time playing together. Going forward, they themselves and the whole team need to work together to try to perform better in every match than in the previous one.

We noticed that Isak struggled somewhat last season, but he has already scored three goals this season, matching his total for the entire previous campaign. What kind of Isak have you seen this season?

I think saying that he struggled last season is a bit absurd. He suffered a leg fracture at the time, so obviously being out for such a long period because of injury is a different matter from saying he struggled last season. I think that narrative needs to change. Of course, he knows himself that he wants to become an important member of the team and the club, and I believe he will achieve that. We just need to keep moving forward.

This was Andoni Iraola's Champions League debut as a manager. As a team, how are you progressing in understanding and adapting to his coaching ideas?

Hopefully we can improve in every match. Without a doubt, there are still many areas where we need to get better, but positive changes are happening and we are putting a lot of effort into training. We have to stay firmly on this path.

Finally, as you said, this is only the first step of your Champions League journey this season. How far do you think the team can go in this competition?

I don't know. But let's enjoy this competition, enjoy this journey, give everything to fight for every match, and then we will see what we can achieve when we reach the end of the journey.