Virgil van Dijk on supporting Harvey Elliott and Reds' win at Leeds
Virgil van Dijk offered his thoughts and prayers to Harvey Elliott after Liverpool's victory at Leeds United on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds' Premier League win at Elland Road was overshadowed by a serious injury to Elliott in the second half.
Mohamed Salah produced the game's opener with his 100th goal in the division, before Fabinho and Sadio Mane then added their names to the scoresheet.
Read on for Van Dijk's post-match interview with Sky Sports...
On the result and Elliott's injury...
First and foremost, all our thoughts and prayers are going to Harvey. Hopefully he recovers quickly and as good as possible from it. Obviously we have no idea what the diagnosis is at the moment but it looked bad. Apart from that, it was a fantastic win here. Intense game, I enjoyed every bit [of] the atmosphere because obviously you didn't experience this for a while. So, two feelings that's there.
On trying to refocus after the Elliott injury...
Definitely. From the moment it happened, I think you saw Mo already shouting to the side that it was really serious. Then you look at the reaction of Harvey and you basically know that it's really serious. Obviously there's the whole treatment period, you do nothing basically, standing still, you hope a little bit for the best. Then you have to refocus. It's difficult but it's difficult for them as well. We had to deal with it and we try to deal with it in the best possible way.
On how satisfying the result is...
It's definitely satisfying. Everyone knew beforehand that it was going to be a very intense, hard game with their fans behind them, pushing them forward for the full 90, 95 minutes. So we had to be brave, ready for the battle and embrace the atmosphere too. We prepared well, even in the short space of time that we had coming from internationals. But winning 3-0 here, keeping a clean sheet is always good to build on.
Watch: Leeds 0-3 LFC - extended highlights
On why he believes Liverpool got the better of Leeds...
I think being brave, getting the ball. We knew that we were going to be in one-v-one situations, so you had to be ready to take your opponent on. Also, you need to be ready to defend, ready to run back, especially on the counter-attack, win those second-ball fights and pick the right colour.
On whether this is the 'perfect start' to an important week...
It's a perfect start – 3-0 winning away, keeping a clean sheet is something to be very happy about. Obviously there's still a little bit of a sad feeling because of Harvey. We'll see what the outcome will be in the next hours, day and then we'll pray and hope for the best for him.
On lending his personal support to Elliott...
One-hundred per cent. The good thing is that I've experienced all the players, the staff, everyone around Liverpool, fans, that they have my back and were there for me in difficult times too. I'm 100 per cent sure that we're all going to be really there for him. Our club Liverpool will also be there for him no matter what.