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Publication Date: Sunday, August 30, 2020 3:55 AM
Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool “shouldn’t panic” after their loss at Community Shield, especially after they bounced back from last year’s match loss by winning the Premier League title.
Arsenal emerged victorious at an empty Wembley on Saturday night, with Mikel Arteta’s men win 5-4 on penalties after Jurgen Klopp’s men came from behind to draw 1-1 in regulation time.
The circumstances were almost identical to last year’s penalty shootout loss to Manchester City and Van Dijk is considering how things improved for the team after that curtain-raiser.
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“I think his main chance was the goal,” said the Netherlands captain. “It was a good finish, but we should have done better there and we shouldn’t have let him in with his right foot, but he obviously finished it off.
“Throughout the game we played well, we dominated, we pressed well and created many chances.
“Obviously, penalties are just a lottery in the end and anything can happen.
“We are disappointed but we have to move on. Last year we also lost on penalties and won the league, so we shouldn’t panic, but obviously we wanted to win today.
“We had a great opportunity with Millie, obviously my goal disallowed and a couple of dangerous moments, but if you look at the game as a whole, I think we created a lot of opportunities that maybe we should have done better.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the winning penalty at the end of a match that began with the Arsenal captain scoring a superb opener.
January acquisition Takumi Minamino came off the bench to equalize, with his first Liverpool goal capped off a promising performance from the Japanese international.
“I think Taki has been very good,” Van Dijk told the club’s website. “After the lockout, he was the Taki we all saw when we played him in Salzburg.
“He is very, very energetic and he is a fantastic player. It’s good for him to come out of his shell and also for us. “
Liverpool kicked off their Premier League title defense at home against championship-winning Leeds on 12 September, when Arsenal traveled to promoted Fulham at the early start.
Arteta’s men enter the campaign buoyed by August FA Cup and Community Shield victories, with Kieran Tierney thrilled by the way things are going.
“The spirit is one of the main things in the locker room, the faith and the spirit, and we have it, we are building it,” he said.
“We only seek to continue and continue to build in this way.
“I think that comes from the manager and the staff. It’s a continuation of what we did last season and builds on it. When we came back last week, we just carried on.
“We’ve never had a lot of free time, so last season it didn’t seem like too much.
“Going into games like this, we start to believe more and more and I think that’s what it’s all about, faith and spirit.
“Mikel has taught us that from day one, defensive organization and transition.
“That’s what we do every day in training, we watch videos about it. It is not by chance or by chance. It’s because of hard work.
“The fans and the club deserve to be in the Champions League.
“They deserve to be in the top four and we want to do the best we can, the best we can and do our best in every game we face this year.”
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