Andoni Iraola
Andoni Iraola
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From Jeremie Frimpong scoring a header, Bradley Barcola notching a hat-trick to Lewis Koumas and Trey Nyoni starting a Champions League game, there were a number of notable firsts in Liverpool’s rampant 6-3 win over LASK.
But there was another unusual instance that points to a matter that could soon become the norm for the Reds under Andoni Iraola.
Not since the 3-3 quarter-final second leg draw at home to Benfica in April 2022 had Virgil van Dijk failed to start a Champions League game of any consequence to Liverpool.
Even then, there was some scope for the Reds to rotate their resources having won the first leg in Lisbon 3-1.
Indeed, Wednesday was the first time Van Dijk - who was nursing a sore calf sustained in the weekend home Premier League defeat to Manchester City - had ever come off the bench to feature in the Champions League with all of his previous 65 appearances in the competition for Liverpool having been as a starter.
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Not that the Netherlands international had seen it coming as he watched the Reds romp into a 4-0 lead at the Raiffeisen Arena with less than half-an-hour remaining.
"I didn't expect to come on whatsoever," he said. "It was a surprise. I'm still recovering a bit. It had been a long time since I didn't start a game like that.
"I still did everything I could off the pitch to help the team. It was unusual for me (not starting) but it's part of life. I think I'll be fine for Saturday."
That trip to Brentford should see Van Dijk maintain his 100% appearance record in the Premier League this season, with only Alisson Becker and centre-back partner Jeremy Jacquet having featured for more minutes under Iraola.
It continues a trend for the Dutchman. He played every minute in the Premier League and Champions League last season, and since returning from the serious knee injury that ruled him out of almost the entirety of the 2020/21 campaign has started 145 of Liverpool's 158 top-flight fixtures.
In three of the last five seasons, no outfield Liverpool player has featured for more minutes, a workload that doesn't take into account Van Dijk playing in 63 of 68 internationals for the Netherlands during the same period.
Rarely has there been as durable a footballer. But having turned 35 during the summer, even Van Dijk acknowledges he cannot go on forever, although he readily made himself available to new Dutch national team boss Xavi and has no immediate plans for international retirement.
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However, as things stand, the defender is now in the final season of his illustrious near nine-year Liverpool career with no talks having yet taken place over the possibility of a new deal once his current agreement expires at the end of the campaign.
Not for the first time, the Reds sought to future proof their centre-back options with £60million Jeremy Jacquet brought in from Rennes even before the surprise departure of Ibrahima Konate on a free transfer to Real Madrid this summer.
Jacquet has proven an instant success unlike the previous summer's centre-back purchase Giovanni Leoni, who suffered a serious knee injury on his debut after a £26m switch from Parma and, more than a year later, remains a month away from a return to team training.
However, with Joe Gomez and on-loan Ronald Araujo available, Iraola does have options to rotate with the latter scoring the opener when partnering Jacquet at the heart of defence at Linz in midweek.
Van Dijk was absent completely from Liverpool's last midweek game, the League Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur, and with the Reds' schedule ramping up it seems likely the Holland international will increasingly have his minutes managed.
In nine games this season, Liverpool have already had six different centre-back partnerships at times during matches as Iraola, as with other areas in the pitch, looks to rotate and refresh.
Nevertheless, as club captain Van Dijk will still be one of the first names on the teamsheet for the most part.
But it won't be for every game. Liverpool may now be looking to get the best out of their talismanic centre-back while preparing for life without him.