Liverpool Wanted To Beat Ajax For Injured Teammate Virgil Van Dijk

Liverpool midfielder James Milner has dedicated Wednesday's victory in the Champions League to injured Virgil van Dijk - who Milner hopes is 'proud' of the team.

The Reds defeated Ajax 1-0 on Wednesday evening in their first game since van Dijk's knee injury in a 2-2 draw with Everton last weekend.

It's believed he could be out for up to a year and Milner told Liverpool's official website he hopes the Dutchman enjoyed his side's performance in Amsterdam.

"A lot has been going on and [there has been] a lot of emotion from all the boys," he begun.

PA

"We are a tight-knit group and when things happen to one of us they happen to all of us, so it was a performance and we wanted to make sure we got that result for Virg.

"We need to keep doing that throughout the season but I think he will have been proud by how the boys dug in and defended and I'm sure he will have enjoyed it watching at home."

Jordan Pickford is the man involved in the challenge with van Dijk, but the England number one wasn't sent off during the game.

Milner continued and admitted the Premier League champions have a 'feeling of injustice' following the saga.

PA

"I saw him on Tuesday and he wished us luck. It's football. Like I say, we are a tight-knit group and unfortunately injuries are part of football.

"It makes it hard to take, how it happened, but as a group of players we have to concentrate on the next game and keep going and use that disappointment and feeling of injustice to fuel us to go on and win as many games as we can."

On the pitch, Milner played an important role against Ajax and covered the most ground, despite being 34-years-old.

Despite being the oldest player to start the game, the former Manchester City man covered 12.63 km during the game.

Ajax's Ryan Gravenberch, who is 18-years-old, placed second on the list on 11.79 km covered.

Liverpool return to action against Sheffield United at 8pm on Saturday night.

How much do you think Liverpool will miss Virgil van Dijk this season?

Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Football News, James Milner, Football, Premier League, Ajax, Virgil Van Dijk, Champions League

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a freelance journalist for SPORTbible and he has previous experience with Manchester United. He has spoken to some of the biggest names in sport including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch, WWE COO Triple H and current WWE champion Drew McIntyre. May or may not do a decent impression of Jamie Carragher.

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