Liverpool fans will be pleased to see what came of Portugal’s two most recent friendlies.
While the international break is usually a stressful experience for clubs all across the world, there are often cases in which it can actually be quite useful – especially for Liverpool.
Across the last few days Portugal, the European champions, have played two friendly games against Egypt and the Netherlands. While they may seem like throwaway encounters on the face of it, they were actually quite important for the development of several players.
Obviously, the main thing you want as a club is for your players to come back 100% fit from their international adventures, but beyond that, you’d like to see them do well on the pitch. Thankfully for Liverpool that was the case for two of their first team mainstays, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
Both men scored against Portugal in the two games, which Egypt lost and the Netherlands won. For Salah, it was important for him to maintain his current run of form heading into the Champions League tie against Manchester City, in addition to the Reds’ push for a place in the top four.
On the other end of the spectrum, the importance of van Dijk’s showing cannot be put into words. Not only did he manage to score, but he was also the captain on the night as the Netherlands registered a clean sheet against a side including Cristiano Ronaldo. That’ll do him the world of confidence, especially after a few weeks of uncertainty.
The defender became the most expensive defender in the history of the game in January, so it’s understandable to consider the possibility of him feeling the pressure. With that being said, van Dijk be able to integrate himself back into proceedings with a renewed sense of momentum after a morale-boosting outing in Geneva.
So while the international break isn’t for everyone, don’t be too quick to dismiss some of the important attributes it possesses.
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