Virgil van Dijk was named on the bench for Liverpool’s Champions League win over LASK, and it may not be the last time the captain is rotated this season under Andoni Iraola.
Jeremie Frimpong’s headed goal, Bradley Barcola’s hat-trick and Champions League starts for Lewis Koumas and Trey Nyoni were among the highlights of Liverpool’s emphatic 6-3 victory. However, Van Dijk’s absence from the starting XI was another notable development.
The Dutch defender had not failed to start a meaningful Champions League fixture for Liverpool since the 3-3 quarter-final second-leg draw against Benfica in April 2022, when the Reds already held a 3-1 advantage from the first leg.
Wednesday also marked the first time Van Dijk had come off the bench in the competition for Liverpool, having started all his previous 65 appearances.
The captain was rested after sustaining a minor calf knock during Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City. He came on alongside Joe Gomez shortly after the hour mark, replacing Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo.
Liverpool subsequently conceded three goals after taking a commanding 4-0 lead, although Van Dijk expects to be fit for Saturday’s trip to Brentford.
“I didn’t expect to come on whatsoever. It was a surprise. I’m still recovering a bit [after getting a kick to the calf against City],” said Van Dijk.
“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. Obviously Joe and I made it interesting after we came on after 60 minutes, but sometimes these things happen.”
Van Dijk was also absent from Liverpool’s midweek League Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur, and with the fixture schedule becoming increasingly demanding, the Netherlands international is likely to have his minutes carefully managed.
Across nine games this season, Liverpool have already used six different centre-back partnerships during matches as Iraola looks to rotate and refresh his squad.
Nevertheless, as club captain, Van Dijk will remain one of the first names on the teamsheet for most games. However, he may no longer feature in every match, with Liverpool keen to get the best out of their talismanic defender.
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