Virgil van Dijk was pleased with the performance that Liverpool produced against Brighton, with Ronald Araujo impressing and Andoni Iraola's attack showing some promising signs
Ronald Araujo was one of the Liverpool heroes as Andoni Iraola's side beat Brighton this weekend, while the Reds' expensively assembled forward line ignited too.
On another positive day for Iraola early in the season, Liverpool collected its first home league win since he took over from Arne Slot in the summer, with some key decisions starting to take shape. At right-back, for instance, Araujo is now firmly established as a fan favorite.
"I think his quality is clear to see," Virgil van Dijk told reporters at Anfield. "I think he slots in very well in our back four. He is a great character, and we are happy to have him.
"It is fully down to him. We as a team welcomed him with open arms. We can see his defensive qualities, his presence and his positive attitude towards the team.
"He doesn't speak too much English but he is working on it. It is down to him to just keep going, but it is great to have him in the team, and he shows that on the pitch, and I think the fans appreciate it as well.
"(The header when the ball was on the floor) sums him up. That is the right mentality, and that is why he is very much appreciated within Liverpool. He gives everything for the badge. It's great to see."
Another summer signing, Jeremy Jacquet, has helped shore up the Liverpool defense alongside Araujo, and the Liverpool front four — including three £100M-plus attackers — gelled together arguably for the first time.
Florian Wirtz's shot deflected in off Pascal Gross for the opener, and then Bradley Barcola and Alexander Isak combined for the second. Alongside Cody Gakpo, the trio did enough to secure the points in the first half.
With Mohamed Salah now having moved on and with others brought in to collectively take on the scoring and creating mantle, getting his forward line firing consistently would be a huge boost for Iraola.
"What Mo has done for so many years as a winger, let's hope so, but I don't think anyone can replicate that," Van Dijk continued. "Hopefully it is going to happen, but what he did was incredible, and the same goes with Sadio (Mane) and Bobby (Firmino).
"Hopefully that is going to happen again and that is what we work for, but now it is time for others, and others have to step up. We can always think it was better back in the day, but that is not the mentality that it should be at a club like Liverpool, and I don't feel it has ever been.
"The club will always move on at a certain point, and there are always players who will shine and perform for the club. It is down to these players who are here now to show it every three or four days.
"Moments like this (the second goal) will give confidence to them and to the team as well. But we all see the quality that they both (Barcola and Isak) possess.
"You want it to come out as much as possible and as soon as possible and I think today, the second goal was class, but there are plenty of moments already this season that they have been very, very good.
"At a club like Liverpool, you have to do it every three or four days. That is always the challenge, but it is a nice challenge. I'm pretty confident that it is going to be fine."
