During the final 20 minutes, the captain of the Liverpool team, Virgil van Dijk stepped off the bench after recovering from his long-term knee injury alongside fellow substitute Joe Gomez, who was also recovering from a long injury lay-off. Dijk and Gomez both had to sit for most of the season this year due to their injuries. Van Dijk injured himself during Liverpool’s friendly defeat to Hertha Berlin in Austria.
Van Dijk tweeted showing his gratitude towards his surgeons, physiotherapist, his coach, teammates, and his family who supported him throughout his recovery process. He also thanked his fans for their love, encouragement, and support. The center-half injured his anterior cruciate ligament and had to undergo surgery in November for it. He showed his ecstatic feeling of coming back on the ground to play.