Lovren: Van Dijk is Adapting Well to Liverpool

Liverpool fans have been blessed with the beginning of a beautiful partnership unfolding before our very eyes. Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool’s defensive salvation, has been finding his feet at Anfield and Dejan Lovren has been eager to help him in any way he can. We’d seen fledgling signs of a partnership in earlier games, but the pair demonstrated exactly what they could do together in Liverpool’s 5-0 win against FC Porto earlier this month.

Lovren is about as surprised as we are about how quickly the players have started to gel.

“To be honest I didn’t expect that we would be so quick (to settle) together,” Lovren said. “But when you are a top centre-back I think it is normal and Virgil is one of them. Of course he needs some time to adapt because Southampton to Liverpool is different.

”But he understands what the manager wants, although sometimes I have to remind him also. I help him as much as I can. It is a difficult period sometimes to adapt but he is managing it quite well.

“Everyone is behind him and giving him support. We are a football team that likes to play with high pressure and I think he does this very good.”

Van Dijk has played in six games so far for Liverpool and has averaged six clearances per game as well as 83 touches and 63 passes. His partnership with Lovren has seen one clean sheet and two goals conceded against Tottenham (we’re still not talking about that game).