Virgil van Dijk says he’s seen such a big difference in key Liverpool man this season

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Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk says there’s a ‘different vibe’ around the Reds this season.

Liverpool have started the campaign well, even briefly going top of the Premier League table after today’s 2-0 win over Everton. It’s a totally different story to last year, when they simply never got going.

Jurgen Klopp is a big reason for that. The manager looked burned out at times during 2022/23, but seems re-energised this time around.

Asked by TNT Sports after the match today whether he himself has seen a change in the boss this season, Van Dijk couldn’t have been clearer.

“One hundred per cent,” smiled the Dutchman. “I think everyone last year, especially towards the end of the season, was drained if I’m absolutely honest. It was such a disappointing season. We couldn’t find that consistency.

“We played one good game – I don’t want to mention it again [in-front of Rio Ferdinand] – but we won big against Manchester United and then we lost against Bournemouth, and that was so frustrating.

“We definitely sense a different vibe and a different energy in the club [this season.]”

Van Dijk makes Klopp admission

In all honesty, this season simply had to be different from Liverpool. Had there been a similar lethargy to the beginning of last campaign, Klopp’s job might have been in trouble.

That may sound hyperbolic, but things really were that bad for a time last year.

If lessons had shown not to have been learned, then Jurgen’s position would start to come under a little scrutiny.

Thankfully, Liverpool have so far shown that 2022/23 was merely a blip. Once again, the Reds are looking like being right up there at the season’s end.

Performances like the one today don’t necessarily show that. But last season, you could easily see Liverpool failing to get this one over the line.

In fairness, without Michael Keane handling in the box this afternoon, maybe they wouldn’t have done today, either. But he did, and they did.

Now the challenge is to keep things going into the Christmas period. It’s been a solid start from Liverpool, but there’s still a long way to go. If Jurgen and his captain can keep this energy going though, it could be a great season ahead.