Virgil van Dijk declared himself "delighted" for Darwin Nunez after the Liverpool striker ended a 12-game barren run at Burnley on Boxing Night. And the Reds captain steered clear of another VAR storm after the Premier League leaders saw two goals chalked off in the 2-0 victory against the Clarets at Turf Moor.
Nunez struck after six minutes to end a run of nearly two months without a Premier League goal before the returning Diogo Jota doubled the advantage late on to ensure the Reds leapfrogged Arsenal at the summit of the table. And Van Dijk revealed he was pleased to see Nunez end the scoreless streak, particularly with Mohamed Salah set for Africa Cup of Nations duty next month following the visit from Newcastle United on New Year's Day.
"It's always important for the guys up front to score goals and I am delighted for him," Van Dijk said. "Diogo, it's the same story. It's good to see the boys back on the scoresheet. I also want to say that Cody Gakpo was outstanding, in the first half especially. It's good to see. Everyone has to keep pushing each other. That's the only way we can get better.
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"Others have to step up anyway. We have to deal with losing Mo and we have the players up front who can make the difference. Let's see how we deal with it."
On the disallowed goals from Gakpo and Harvey Elliott in each half, Van Dijk added: "What can I say? They didn't count so we move on. Others can debate whether it's the right call. We can't change it. A decision is made and we have to accept it.
"I don't speak about winning the league at this point,
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