Virgil van Dijk sends Everton demand to Liverpool team-mates as Alexander Isak message sent

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The 247th Merseyside derby takes place at Anfield tomorrow afternoon, with the Reds top of the Premier League table after taking maximum points from their four games so far this season.

Everton haven't won at Anfield in front of a crowd in the 21st Century, with their last victory against their rivals coming behind closed doors back in February 2021.

And writing in his programme notes for the game, Van Dijk said: “I don’t need to say too much about what this game means to everybody connected with the club.

“Derby matches are always special – my Liverpool debut came in this fixture – and we are all really looking forward to welcoming Everton to Anfield as we look to pick up another positive result and continue our strong start to the season.

“We come into the game on the back of two really tough games, but two really good victories as well.

It might be an early kick-off, but I know that you will make Anfield as loud as possible.

“I said ahead of Wednesday’s game that I wanted this to be a place where no team wants to play, so let’s make that the case here, and let’s make it another derby day to remember.”

Wednesday’s 3-2 Champions League win over Atletico Madrid was the fifth time in five matches this season that Arne Slot’s side has scored late to secure all three points.

“Having left it late to beat Burnley in the Premier League last weekend, to then go and do the same against a good Atletico Madrid side in the Champions League says everything about the mentality and the belief that this team has.

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“Yet again, we kept going right until the end.

We got over our frustrations, kept our composure and on this occasion I was the lucky one who was able to score the winning goal, in what I have to say was a fantastic atmosphere.

“Much has been made of our late winners this season, but, as I said earlier this week, the important thing for us is that we continue to show a willingness to keep going, keep working hard and keep believing that good things will happen.

“We would rather give ourselves a more comfortable life, of course, but we never, ever give up, and I think that is a big asset for any team to have.

“We know that Saturday’s game will be another tough test.

We need to compete, to work hard without the ball and to try to show our quality with the ball.

"I thought we played some really good stuff against Atletico, and I think you can see that the understanding within the team is improving with each game.

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“It was good that we were able to give Alexander Isak his first minutes in a red shirt, and hopefully going forward we will see the connection between him, Hugo [Ekitike], Florian [Wirtz], Mo [Salah] and the rest continue to grow.