Van Dijk Dismisses Talk That Chelsea Will Be Easier To Face Without Hazard

Van Dijk Dismisses Talk That Chelsea Will Be Easier To Face Without Hazard

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk believes that the Reds will come up against a very different Chelsea side this evening to the one they faced last season.

The Blues sold Eden Hazard to Real Madrid this summer, with many pundits believing that Frank Lampard’s team have been weakened, but van Dijk thinks that tonight’s opponents are more than a one-man team:

“He is a quality player and he was important to them but I think they have plenty of quality players. I think they play a little bit different than they did last year. We will analyse them over the next couple of days and then we will be prepared.”

“Nothing that happened last season [against Chelsea] will have any impact on what is going to happen. It is the next game.”

Based on the opening games of the season, the Super Cup final is likely to be a very open contest. The Reds conceded a number of chances despite winning 4-1 against Norwich on Friday.

In contrast, Chelsea created a number of clear-cut opportunities at Old Trafford despite losing 4-0 to Manchester United. As van Dijk says, Liverpool will be facing a different team to the one managed by Maurizio Sarri last season.

Manager Frank Lampard is certainly inexperienced and manager Jurgen Klopp will be looking to take advantage this evening and lift the club’s first trophy of the campaign.