Last weekend, in the 16th round of the English Premier League, Liverpool fought Fulham to a 2-2 draw at home. After the match, Van Dyke, the Liverpool defender, spoke freely in front of the media about his feelings on the field.
Van Dyke commented: "It was a brave decision and a smart tactic to draw the game with 10 men. We had the strength to break down our opponents, and even with the shortage of players, there were still many unknowns in the game. It was a challenging but rewarding way to play. We didn't want to take too many risks, but when we fell behind, we had to. Showing resilience is a sign of growth in times of trouble. Despite the unprecedented challenge, we need to keep going for ourselves and the Liverpool family. To be honest, we had the chance to take all three points, but that's the reality."
Prior to this, Slotter had criticized Liverpool's performance against Girona. Van Dyke responded by saying, "This win proves everything, it depends on our determination to go forward and the pressure we are under. This game in particular was far from our standards and we have had discussions and watched the footage. It's good because we can learn from it."
It is worth mentioning that Wakita, who has just recovered from injury, came back and scored in this game, to which Van Dyk said: "He was wonderful and energetic on the field. That's what he brings to the team. I hope he can stay healthy and continue to play a key role. We need every player to be at their best to make sure we have a full complement of players."
Talking about the impact of injuries on the team, Van Dyke admitted: "Injuries are a growing problem and all teams have similar situations. We play a lot and injuries are inevitable, which affects the quality of the game. Manchester City are experiencing injuries and fluctuations and we've had similar experiences. It's not a predicament that's easy to get out of or a quagmire that's easy to get into. I won't comment too much on them as I'm more concerned about our own predicament. These experiences are extremely tough and hopefully we can avoid them, but we are facing the same problems with injuries."
