Virgil van Dijk admits Liverpool need to address defensive frailties

Virgil van Dijk admits there are defensive issues that Liverpool must discuss ahead of their Premier League clash with Brentford.

Jurgen Klopp's men have been uncharacteristically poor at the back at times this season, and have already shipped just seven less goals than they conceded during the entirety of the 2021/22 campaign.

Those defensive issues reared their ugly head once again on Friday as Liverpool conceded an early goal in the eventual win over Leicester City, allowing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to drift through the heart of the backline with worrying ease.

Speaking after the game to Sky Sports, Van Dijk admitted there need to be some honest conversations about things to improve.

"We got through the game which is very important but there are things to improve on which we will discuss," the Dutchman said.

"We tried to get in the game but it wasn’t good enough and we all know that. So, we’ll improve but we won and that’s very positive – that’s what it’s all about of course, but there are plenty of things we have to improve.

"Obviously we prepared very well, we had a good game in Birmingham the other day and we tried to keep that going. At times today we were maybe a little bit too quick and then we lose the ball in difficult situations and [were] a bit more open. Then obviously they have a lot of players who can play with their strengths, but we have to take the three points, be confident and onto the next."

Despite their defensive struggles, Liverpool have chalked up four Premier League wins in a row to close the gap on the Premier League's top four.