Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has admitted his side made a "terrible start" in their 4-3 Champions League victory over Villarreal, but pointed to a newfound resilience under head coach Andoni Iraola.
The win at Anfield on Tuesday was the third time in 11 games this season that Liverpool have come from behind to win, and the second in succession after a 2-1 Premier League triumph at Brentford on Saturday. They had also recovered from a deficit at home to Atletico Madrid last month.
Resilience under Iraola
Only twice last season did Liverpool successfully overturn a deficit, while draws when in arrears against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest in August mean they have already matched such recoveries over the entirety of the previous campaign.
Van Dijk said the team are showing much greater strength of character under Iraola. "Definitely," he said. "Obviously we don't want to put ourselves in a position where you have to come back from anything and that's what I did from the start. But then there was the fightback and the moments we created because we have to remember Villarreal are a very good team on the ball and they showed that with a lot of movements and rotations on the ball. It wasn't a great first half but we got it turned around."
Van Dijk's admission
The poor opening saw Van Dijk gift Georges Mikautadze the chance to give Villarreal an early lead, which was doubled before the half-hour by Sergi Cardona.
"It was a terrible start," said the Netherlands international. "I think the saying is you fight an uphill battle and as a defender it is pretty difficult to come back from it. I tried but it was a bad day at the office personally but we do it together with 11 players. Fortunately it didn't happen too many times in my Liverpool career but I was not the best. But we won and it's not about me, it's all about us."
Liverpool again demonstrated their increased appetite for pressing under Iraola, particularly during the second half when, having drawn level by half-time, they took the game away from Villarreal. Van Dijk believes the shift to a more aggressive style is more in keeping with what is expected from supporters.
Pressing style and upcoming fixtures
"What the manager wants us to do is something which resonates with Liverpool and it is down to us to show us each and every game," he said. "It's not easy, it's demanding but if you want to win games and win games in the Liverpool way then we have to do it. The first half was obviously not good at all and the second half was solid and we turned it around and that's a good sign."
Liverpool are now almost halfway through a schedule of nine games in 29 days, which continues with the Premier League visit of Brighton on Sunday. "It's an important run for sure," said Van Dijk. "We are also coming to a period now, especially November-December, when I think you can see who will be challenging for certain places. But our full focus is on the game ahead of us, that should always be the case. Brighton are flying high and it will be a tough one."
Teenage winger Rio Ngumoha posted his best performance for Liverpool on Tuesday, providing assists for Ronald Araujo to equalise and Alexis Mac Allister to put the Reds ahead. Van Dijk detailed how senior players have taken Ngumoha under their wing following Mohamed Salah's departure in the summer.
"A few senior players, I would say Cody (Gakpo) is definitely part of that," he said. "But everyone has that role in order to help the youngsters in the group, the players who have not had so much experience. Everyone is chipping in but for him to work with Mo last year was obviously massive as Mo was one of the best wingers at the club and experienced everything, so why not soak in all the information and show it on the pitch and show your own qualities? I think Rio has shown it this season but there is still much more to come. He's pretty electric at times and he showed it again on Tuesday. He was a complete threat constantly and their defender had a tough time."
