Van Dijk on Everton Postponement: "We Did Not See It as a Gift"
Today at 08:34 AM
The most likely dates for the rearranged fixture appear to be during the Champions League knockout playoff should the Reds earn a bye as expected.
After the heady high of beating both Real Madrid and Manchester City by 2-0 over the course of a week, perhaps a slight subsequent dip was always inevitable, as Liverpool have followed that up with a 3-3 draw with Newcastle and narrow 1-0 victory over Girona.
Both performances and results that are likely to end up entirely acceptable within the ebb and flow of a long season but two games where it's fair to say the Reds weren't quite at their best. And between those two games, a postponed match against local rivals Everton.
Whether the energy of a derby would have helped get Liverpool going or if a dip in form coinciding with it could have led to a bigger stumble we'll never know, but captain Virgil van Dijk at least says he and his teammates don't view the postponement as positive.
"We did not see it as a gift," Van Dijk insisted. "We wanted to play that game. I always want to play and get a result but unfortunately the game did not happen. It was the right decision in terms of the safety for the fans but we will meet and we have to be ready for them."
Options for playing the postponed Everton match are limited, but for now the likeliest option appears to be during the Champions League knockout playoff round, which the Reds are all but mathematically certain to get to skip by finishing top eight in the league phase.
Liverpool are currently first in Europe, the only perfect side after six rounds with two still to play, and it would take essentially eight of the next 11 sides trailing them to win both their remaining games while the Reds lose both for automatic advancement to be at risk.
The knockout playoffs happen February 11th-12th and February 18th-19th. Advancement or lack thereof in the domestic cups could also open space for a rearranged match early in the new year, when the Reds also play their final two Champions League league games.
"It's still the Champions League," Van Dijk added of those upcoming matches. "With the amount of games we could play it would be an opportunity maybe for players who don't play as much but it's still the Champions League. We'll see what the manager decides."
