Liverpool made it four wins in a row with a victory over Brighton on Sunday and Virgil van Dijk has made it clear what he expects from the club's star attackers going forward
Alexander Isak of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with Virgil van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk has told Liverpool's stars what he expects from them(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
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Virgil van Dijk has told Florian Wirtz, Bradley Barcola and Alexander Isak that they need to deliver for Liverpool in every game before they can be considered a success.
Wirtz, Barcola and Isak are shouldering a great deal of expectation after Liverpool invested a combined £364million on them. All three cost over £100m and are beginning to find their feet under Andoni Iraola.
They were instrumental in the 2-0 win over Brighton on Sunday which was Liverpool fourth win in succession across all competitions. But the expensive trio have difficult acts to follow in the form of club legends Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Van Dijk enjoyed the success with their predecessors and says his current team-mates are aware of the expectations.
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"I think it is the reality," Van Dijk told the Liverpool Echo. "What Mo has done for so many years as a winger, let's hope so, but I don't think anyone can replicate that. Hopefully it is going to happen, but what he did was incredible. The same goes with Sadio and Bobby.
"Hopefully that is going to happen again and that is what we work for, but now it is time for others, and others have to step up.
"We can always think it was better back in the day, but that is not the mentality that it should be at a club like Liverpool, and I don't feel it has ever been. The club will always move on at a certain point, and there are always players who will shine and perform for the club. It is down to these players who are here now to show it every three or four days."
Florian Wirtz looks on
Florian Wirtz is yet to live up to his £116.5m price tag(Image: Paul Currie / AFP via Getty Images)
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Wirtz's shot cannoned off Pascal Gross for the first goal against Brighton before Barcola showed his lightning pace to steal possession and tee up Isak to score his sixth Premier League goal of the season.
"Moments like this (the second goal) will give confidence to them and to the team as well. But we all see the quality that they both (Barcola and Isak) possess," Van Dijk added.
"You want it to come out as much as possible and as soon as possible and I think today, the second goal was class, but there are plenty of moments already this season that they have been very, very good.
"At a club like Liverpool, you have to do it every three or four days. That is always the challenge, but it is a nice challenge. I'm pretty confident that it is going to be fine. I don't have all the [recent] games in my head, but thinking about this game, everyone put a big shift in."
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