Liverpool certainly won't be giving itself too many pats on the back in the wake of the win over West Ham. But while Virgil van Dijk is not getting carried away ahead of Sunderland's trip to Anfield, he has made sure that a couple of his colleagues are recognized for their hard work.
The victory at the weekend was only sufficient to narrowly prize the Reds out of the bottom half, so the mood is far from celebratory overall. Van Dijk knows as well as anybody that Liverpool desperately needs to build on that result.
But allowing a cloud of negativity to settle over Anfield would not do anybody any favors. And if you looked for them, there were some green shoots at the London Stadium, which the captain has been at pains to point out.
Chief among them was surely the performance of Florian Wirtz. Jamie Carragher even made a lofty comparison to Kevin De Bruyne, noting that the summer signing was given the freedom to pull the strings.
But there were also notable showings at the other end of the pitch. And Van Dijk used his program notes to credit Joe Gomez specifically.
"I’d like to mention Joe Gomez, on what was his first league start of the season," Van Dijk wrote in the pre-Sunderland program. "I have said many times previously that in order to be successful, we are going to need everybody to be ready to play their part, whether it’s from the start or off the bench. I thought Joey was outstanding on the day, so big credit to him."
Gomez did indeed bring a degree of stability to the right side of defense (although some credit for that must also go to Dominik Szoboszlai at right wing, who was far more active on the defensive side than Mohamed Salah usually is). Now at the club for over a decade, the defender still has an important role to play.
Whether he gets another chance against Sunderland remains to be seen. But he is a standout option at right-back, at least while Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong work their way back to fitness.
He may yet also be called into action in his most natural position, at center-back. It's easy to forget that he partnered Van Dijk to great effect for much of the title-winning 2019/20 season, and if he can stay injury-free, he certainly has the quality to put pressure on a shaky Ibrahima Konate.
Either way, as Van Dijk points out, everyone will be needed over the course of the campaign. Gomez finding form can only be a good thing as Liverpool digs deep to turn things around.
Joe Gomez of Liverpool during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London Stadium on November 30, 2025 in London, England.
Joe Gomez has been praised by defensive partner and captain Virgil van Dijk. (Image: Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
The same is certainly true of Alexander Isak. And Van Dijk believes his goal could against West Ham be a big moment.
"We know that things haven’t been so good for us recently, but Sunday was extremely welcome, in terms of both the result and the performance," Van Dijk wrote. "It was great to see Alexander Isak score his first Premier League goal for the club.
"Alex has not had the easiest time since joining, as I’m sure he would tell you himself, but he has been working extremely hard behind the scenes, and we know the quality he possesses. He is a clinical finisher, and hopefully that was the first of many league goals in a Liverpool shirt."
While Isak had another quiet game overall, the finish was indeed a small reminder of why Liverpool was prepared to break the Premier League transfer record for his services. What might have been a half-chance for another striker was made to look straightforward, tucked away into the corner with very minimal fuss.
At his best, that's what Isak does. It's almost reminiscent of Alisson at the other end: he has the knack of making the extraordinary look ordinary.
But in order to do that, he needs to be involved. Van Dijk admitted that Isak has had a tough start, and a lot of that has been to do with integration into the side; he has looked peripheral far too often, including for large stretches of the West Ham win.
Of course, Erling Haaland is living proof that you don't need to be involved in every minute of the play as long as you're there when it matters. But whether it's a job for Isak or his teammates (or, most likely, both), it's critical that the Swede gets more chances to show what he can do in front of goal.
Crucially, though, West Ham gives him something to build on, just as it does for Gomez. At opposite ends of the pitch, the pair will look to justify Van Dijk's plaudits as Arne Slot's side hit the comeback trail.