Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has said manager Jurgen Klopp told the team to play "the Liverpool way" during his half time team talk against Villarreal.
The Reds eventually booked their place in the Champions League final on Tuesday night after a 5-2 aggregate win, although the La Liga side did threaten to make it a contest.
They burst into a two-goal lead at half time and it eventually took the introduction of the phenomenal Luis Diaz and a goalkeeping collapse from Geronimo Rulli to see the Reds home. Fabinho, Diaz and Sadio Mane all found the net, giving Liverpool a 3-2 win on the night.
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While Diaz and Rulli were the key individuals in the second half, overall there was more composure and purpose in the Reds' play after the break. Van Dijk said the manager reminded them of what got the team to this point earlier in the season, per BT Sport.
"Play football! Play the Liverpool way how we’ve played all season," said the Dutchman when asked what Klopp had told the players. "Get on the ball, have a lot of movements with the ball and in behind the last line.
"With the speed we have we need to mix that up as well, and we needed to show how much we wanted to go to the final. Second half we dominated and played so well."
Van Dijk was also full of praise for Diaz, who turned in an electric 45 minutes on the left flank to give Liverpool renewed impetus.
"He’s incredible," said Liverpool's captain on the night. "The way he goes one-against-one, it doesn’t matter who he is facing. He just goes at you, without any fear, if he loses the ball he gets it back as soon as possible and goes again and again. That’s very difficult to defend."
