NewsVirgil van Dijk on Kelleher confidence, squad stepping up and title race

Kelleher made several excellent saves at Brentford on Saturday, where the goalkeeper filled in for Alisson Becker – ruled out due to a muscle issue – as the Reds won 4-1 in the Premier League.

Jürgen Klopp’s side stylishly passed the test at Gtech Community Stadium despite also losing Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez to fitness concerns before the start of the second half.

“I always said that he is a world-class goalkeeper,” Van Dijk said of Kelleher.

“It is very difficult to be a second ’keeper but there is no shame in being second goalkeeper to one of, if not the best goalkeeper in the world.

“He has to step up now and everyone needs a bit of confidence and everyone should give him the confidence that he will do the job. Everyone needs a bit of love from the outside.

“Hopefully Saturday will help him carry on and take that confidence into the next game.”

The captain, who brought up his 250th appearance for the club at the weekend, continued: “We cannot deny that we have had so many injuries and we have lost big players so we have to adapt, but it is also a big credit to the players who have stepped up and taken their chances.

“We need everyone in this whole fight. We are still competing on all fronts and let’s keep this going until the very last moment so we can be successful.

“We cannot take our eye off the ball. We have the quality to punish opponents and we showed that against Brentford.”

Results over the weekend mean Liverpool remain top of the division, two points ahead of Arsenal and four clear of Manchester City, who have a game in hand.

On the importance of keeping a measured mindset in the midst of a title race, Van Dijk said: “Calmness is the most difficult thing to have if you are under a lot of pressure or being rushed. That is the big message. You have to stay calm, however difficult.

“What is the trick of staying calm? It is to enjoy your football. You have to expect difficulties. We play in the Premier League, we play against difficult teams who want to hurt you and want to kick you off from first place. We have to be ready to suffer. We are not a perfect team but we have to keep going.

“[Last season] Arsenal were pushing until the very end, almost. Obviously we have been there [before]. It is a very, very difficult league. You are playing against teams like City or Arsenal who have so much quality so anything can happen.

“You have to win each game that is in front of you and by the looks of things, that will definitely be needed.”