Virgil van Dijk reserves special praise for 4 Liverpool teammates ahead of Chelsea game

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has given special praise to four of his club teammates ahead of the Premier League clash with Chelsea this weekend after the quartet impressed during the international break.

Van Dijk was sent off while playing for the Netherlands against Hungary which meant he missed his nation's defeat against Germany. While that means he should be fresher for Liverpool , it also allowed him to keep a closer eye on events happening elsewhere.

"The most recent international period ended in frustration for me personally, but there were some real positives for some of my teammates," Van Dijk writes in his matchday program notes for the game with Chelsea.

"Congratulations, for example, to Conor Bradley , who captained Northern Ireland for the first time. In football, there are few greater honors than being chosen to lead your country out, and I know Conor and his family will be extremely proud, as they should be.

"Others showed some of their best form, too, including Trent Alexander-Arnold with England, Dominik Szoboszlai with Hungary, and Luis Diaz with Colombia. Hopefully they and others will return with both form and confidence, ready for the big challenges to come.

"This is a period in which we will need every single member of the squad. We are all satisfied with the start we have made to the campaign, with nine wins out of 10 games in all competitions, but that only makes us hungrier to deliver more.

"We don't want to be remembered as a side which flew out of the blocks and then faded away. We want to get stronger and stronger as the season progresses, delivering big performances and big results on a consistent basis. That is what we will be demanding of ourselves."

Liverpool.com says: International breaks can always go a couple of different ways. Either players get injured or they gain confidence by performing well. Ahead of a crucial period, Arne Slot has a few concerns, including Alexis Mac Allister's groin issue, but the likes of Szoboszlai and Diaz should come back to the club game in positive spirits.