Virgil van Dijk has no base place in the Champions League match between Liverpool and Benfica on Wednesday evening. The central defender starts on the bench, which is remarkably strong. Liverpool will defend a 3-1 lead in front of their own audience from 9 p.m. in the hunt for a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League. It seems that Jürgen Klopp is confident in a good outcome and leaves the B-choice to work.
Van Dijk played ninety minutes in Liverpool’s last ten official games. He has so far only missed an FA Cup game against Norwich City (2-1 win). Then he was not part of the match selection at all. The match against Benfica is Van Dijk’s first since the Champions League match with FC Porto (2-0 win) on November 24, in which he starts on the bench.
Compared to last week’s meeting, Klopp is making several changes. Joe Gomez, Matip and Kostas Tsimikas are replaced on the defense, leaving Trent Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Andy Robertson out of the starting lineup. In midfield, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara make way for James Milner and Jordan Henderson. Only Luis Díaz remains in the vanguard. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are on the bench, so Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino appear at the kick-off.
The (social) media mainly talks about the Liverpool bank. “I was expecting some changes, but it’s clear that Klopp is already looking at Saturday’s game at Wembley with one eye,” he said. Liverpool Echo against Manchester City in the EFL Cup semi-final. “This bank can already win the Champions League single-handedly,” writes journalist Artur Petrosyan.
Lineup Liverpool: Alisson; Gomez, Matip, Konate, Tsimikas; Keita, Milner, Henderson; Jota, Firmino, Diaz.
Bank Liverpool: Kelleher, Fabinho, Van Dijk, Thiago, Mane, Salah, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Robertson, Origi, Alexander-Arnold, Elliott
Line-up Benfica: Vlachodimos; Gilberto, Otamendi, Vertonghen, Grimaldo; Everton, Weigl, Taarabt, Diogo Gonçalves; Gonçalo Ramos, Darwin Núñez
Benfica bank: Helton, Valentino, Morato, Pedro Álvaro, André Almeida, Meïte, Paulo Bernardo, Joao Mário, Nemanja, Gil Dias, Seferovic, Yaremchuk.
This Liverpool’s bench could win the Champions League on its own. https://t.co/dbD20P35v6
— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) Apr 13, 2022