Virgil van Dijk names one thing Liverpool must do to defend their Premier League title

Virgil van Dijk has admitted that Liverpool must tighten up at the back if they are to stand any chance of defending their Premier League title.

Liverpool kicked off their season by losing the Community Shield on penalties to Crystal Palace on Sunday. The Reds surrendered two leads, with their shaky backline hindering them as Palace triumphed on spot-kicks at Wembley.

While there were goals for new signings Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong, there were also some worrying signs at the back. Van Dijk gave away a penalty by tripping Ismaila Sarr for the first Palace equaliser before the forward was played in through a gaping hole in the defence to score in the second half.

Alisson had to make some important saves for Arne Slot’s side, who continued their trend in pre-season of scoring goals but also leaking them. Preston, Milan, Yokohama and Athletic Bilbao all found the back of the net in pre-season and Van Dijk is concerned.

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“We've conceded in every game we've played, apart from Stoke City at home,” the Liverpool captain said. “It's something we have to improve as a collective. It was good to feel the intensity again, to be back playing in the UK, getting 90 minutes.

“There were some good things, but I can't lie, losing at Wembley the last two times is something I don't like. If it was that simple (defensive issues), we would have fixed it. You defend as a team and press as a team.

“I don't know how many chances we gave away (against Palace), Maybe a handful. But the fact is we've conceded in every game apart from Stoke. It's something we have to work on. I'm not worried, because we showed how to defend last season. But we have to get back to that.”

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Liverpool had the second best defence after Arsenal in the Premier League last season, but have a different looking backline this time. With Trent Alexander-Arnold gone and Andy Robertson benched, Slot started with Frimpong and Milos Kerkez as his full-backs at Wembley.

The Reds have spent nearly £300m on new players this summer and could still add Newcastle striker Alexander Isak and are favourites for the title. But Van Dijk knows from experience from their last league success in 2019/20 that defending the trophy is a different beast.

“It was quite tough, the year after we last won it,” he said. “(Manchester) City did it well, to be honest. What we have to do is realise that what happened last season, happened last season.

“We start from scratch. The Premier League is so difficult. I think teams can make it so difficult for each other. Home and away. There are no easy games, then on top of that is the Champions League.

“It's about looking after yourself and doing everything in your power to be ready. It's important for the team. That's the target for everyone. That's the main message.

“Everyone should look forward to Friday. I'm looking forward to Friday. It's going to be a very difficult season, we all know that, but we are all in this together. It was always going to be tough, given what happened in the summer. But the only way to move on is to be together.”

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