(Liverpool – Hertha Berlin 3-4) Virgil van Dijk has been out with a knee injury since October 2020. On Thursday he was back on the pitch for the Merseyside club and was humiliated by former Manchester City player Stevan Jovetić.
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Before the match reported Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp that van Dijk should get 20 minutes of playing time, and as ordered, the stopper giant entered the turf when the clock ticked 68 minutes.
So did Joe Gomez, who has been out since the Premier League match against Manchester City on November 8, 2020.
Liverpool’s Dutch midfielder had to leave the pitch in the Merseyside derby in October after just seven minutes, after a rough meeting with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
BACK: Virgil van Dijk was back on the field for the first time since October 2020 during the training match against Hertha Berlin on Thursday. Foto: Peter Byrne / PA Wire
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The Dutchman started the training match on Thursday on the bench, and had to watch large parts of the fast-paced match from the sidelines. The Berlin team quickly took the lead with both one and two goals by Santiago Ascacibar and Suat Serdar.
Liverpool got up the steam towards the end of the first half, and equalized after goals from Sadio Mané and Takumi Minamino.
Former Manchester City and Inter player Stevan Jovetić scored the third goal for Hertha Berlin, 20 minutes into the second half.
The striker scored his second, and doubled the lead 15 minutes later, when he fooled van Dijk in the injury comeback, and put the ball playfully in goal.
Liverpool striker Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain embellished the result for the “home team”, with two minutes of full time left, with a cannonball of a shot.
The Merseyside club suffered an injury last season without van Dijk, but with five straight victories at the end of the season, they saved a third place behind Manchester City and Manchester United.
– In and around the team, he makes a huge difference for us, says Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpoolfc.com and elaborates:
– Fantastic guy, fantastic player. But the impact he has on us is enormous. He knows what role he has in the team as a leader, and as one of the captains.
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