Liverpool boss Klopp defends Jota and Van Dijk against form criticism

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has defended senior duo Diogo Jota and Virgil van Dijk.

Van Dijk has struggled for consistency this season, while Jota has been underwhelming since returning from a long-term injury.

I think Diogo has done very well since his return because it was a very long injury for that,” said the German. A super mature, great boy. He handles difficulties and setbacks well. It was really Impressive for his age.

The level of performance it produced, I really liked. He was good against Chelsea. He closed the right side very well and offensively was a threat again.

He doesn’t have the physical base yet to go and go and go and again, because of his long injury. But Diogo is a very good player and we missed him a lot during the season.

Lucho (Luis Diaz) has also been greatly missed for much of the season. Starting next week, Lucho will hopefully be back to normal.

Diogo is back, which is absolutely helpful. It is perhaps for him that this year is not the one he will remember as the best of his life because he was injured for most of it. But for us with these last games we have, he is super important.”

Meanwhile, on Van Dijk, Klopp said: “Virg is a leader, he’s not under pressure to be a leader,” he said. He is a leader and he always has been a leader. Maybe the focus is a bit more on him now.

I don’t think he’s any more vocal than before to be honest. I think he was still vocal. In a great game, I don’t think you realize how much people talk because it’s always going well, but in your line you also have to play better.

But he knows it. He knows it too and anything we can do to achieve that is welcome. Yes, organizing a line is a huge thing but it’s not that he started now, becoming a leader or anything. It’s always been that way, from day one.”

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