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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Stephen Killen

'Shouts a lot' - Virgil van Dijk reveals Jurgen Klopp fury at Liverpool players

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has admitted he came underfire from manager Jurgen Klopp during the opening day draw with Fulham.

The Reds had to come from behind twice at Craven Cottage to secure a point after Aleksandar Mitrovic's brace, including a penalty which was given away by the towering Dutch defender.

Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah clawed Liverpool back twice to secure a point. Speaking to Gary Neville on the Overlap in their '19 Questions' episode, the 31-year-old revealed that in the dying embers, he was on the receiving end of a dressing down from the German.

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Talking about whether he has witnessed Klopp see red, Van Dijk said: "Plenty of times [shouts at Van Dijk], not in my face because I think screaming in someone's face is a little disrespectful but when somebody needs it, he does it, he shouts a lot.

"What I like, someone does that because they really cares about you or the situation and make sure it improves or get anyone else sharper. I really enjoy that in a certain way and it helps me.

"When we played Fulham at the start of the season, in the last five minutes I was trying to go more direct and he was shouting me to play a little bit more. I knew he was shouting from the side so I was trying to glance because I knew for a fact he was going to go after me."

Also during the conversation, Van Dijk labelled defensive partner Andy Robertson as the funniest player in the squad. Both players have since established a formidable partnership on the left-side of the defence since Van Dijk's arrival at Anfield.

He feels the experiences they've had together have helped their relationship grow stronger, the former Southampton defender added: "I think since the before I joined, the first half of the season, when I wasn't at Liverpool he [Robertson] didn't play much, he started to play and that relationship got stronger and stronger.

"With all the experiences we've got, the success we had, the bond is very big. The main message is keep a clean sheet and if we do that we have a chance to win the game, it sounds cliche, but it's the message we have for each other and the main one."

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