Without wishing to go over the same ground again,
I know that the Liverpool supporters would really like to know how Virgil's getting on,
have you got an update on his condition and whether he's had surgery or not yet?
I can understand people are interested in that,
Virgil was here, he’s OK.
But about when the surgery will happen and stuff like this,
I don’t think it makes sense that we give pretty much a time schedule every day.
But it will be fine and will happen in an appropriate time.
So, that’s it pretty much - he is as good as possible.
And now he has been fully assessed, do you have a better idea how long he'll be out?
We don’t even want to know it, to be honest. It will take time, that’s clear.
In the end, it’s really like this:
all people are different and so we should not limit that by saying,
"For him it was that long, for him it was that long."
I think it makes sense from a specific moment in the recovery, in the rehab time,
that it becomes individual,
because then everybody copes differently with it and each body.
That’s why there is no need [for a timeframe].
Just finally then, on your squad for this weekend,
any further injuries, anyone likely to come back,
for example Alisson?
Let me say it like this with the others,
apart from Ox and Virg and maybe Kostas -
who is getting closer and closer but is not at all in contention for this game
or for the next one - all the others we have to see day by day pretty much.
It's a lot of conversations with the medical department,
for who it makes sense, for who it's early, all these kinds of things.
That's the time we are in with the games we have,
if somebody is injured for two weeks that could mean five games!
And it's still not a serious injury, but that's it.
I don't know in this moment who will be available,
my last information was that the boys who played the other night are all fine,
they are OK, and the rest, we will see.
- Hi, Jürgen, good to see you. - Hi, Sam.
In terms of Premier League football it's pretty much a game a week for the next five weeks,
with that in mind do you expect results and performances overall
to return to a little bit more normality, or with the continuation of no fans
should we still expect big and slightly strange scorelines?
I don't know, I didn't even think about it,
we are not too much interested in strange scorelines,
it's just about making sure that you have a good chance to win the game
and not whichever result it means,
so we are obviously not a team who wants to concede a lot and stuff like this,
but we know goals can still happen on either side.
I have no idea what will happen in the Premier League,
we don't really make a difference between Premier League and Champions League,
because it's just three days between games all the time,
so we just wake up, recover,
and today it's possible to have kind of a session,
we use that, because Ajax and Sheffield United are completely different,
the way they play, and Sheffield United deserve a lot of attention for what they do,
because they are really good at that, even though the results so far
were not exactly what they wished for,
but the performances were not that bad, and I'm pretty sure Chris Wilder knows that.
So they will build on that and that makes it tricky for us.
They had a full week to prepare the game,
with all the strength they have at setpieces anyway
they had time for working on that as well,
so it will be a tough one for us, like it always was against Sheffield United,
and that's why we're completely focused on this game
and don't think about the general situation in the league.
Chris Wilder has said that Rhian Brewster may well start tomorrow,
he's obviously a player you know very well,
how much does the fact you know his game inside-out help with your preparation?
We all know him very well and that's the problem - we know how good he is!
That's the situation, and like when always when a boy -
and especially Rhian, who is really our boy, or used to be -
it means that I wish them a nearly perfect Premier League season.
OK, he couldn't have played 36 games, but if he could,
36 world-class games and two days off when we play them,
and I hope for this day!
But I’m not sure that will happen. So, we need to be 100 per cent focused if he starts.
But not only him, come on.
How I said, Sheffield United are doing really well
and it’s not unlikely something like what happened to them now result-wise,
they had a pretty tough start fixture-wise.
It’s normal and I’m pretty sure Chris is calm enough to know all the good things they did
are still good, and they just have to keep them going.
That’s what they will try and that makes it really a very intense game.
It’s Sheffield United - the way they play, if you want to win the game
you have to be intense yourself. And that’s it.
And if Rhian is then on the pitch, we know we should not let him finish at all,
because wherever he gets the ball he is a natural finisher and that’s his biggest threat.
Thanks very much.
Jürgen, it felt like a really significant win on Wednesday night,
things obviously didn't go your way for a number of reasons last Saturday,
so how much confidence do you and the squad take into tomorrow?
Oh, I liked the game from a performance point of view against Everton,
much more than the game against Ajax, but you have to win games and I can understand.
By the way, it's really disappointing when I hear that peopled confronted Erik ten Hag
with what I said about the pitch.
And then he has to respond on that, that's really a bit embarrassing.
I didn't blame the pitch for our performance, I said it was not a good pitch
and it didn't help both teams, but who is interested in the truth nowadays?
That's the thing, but one week ago we played a sensational game,
in really difficult circumstances, I like that a lot.
We don't struggle with confidence or whatever, it's just we have to make sure
that we are ready, physically and mood-wise,
so that's what we've done for years already,
which is the biggest challenge, to make sure that you're always ready,
but this is the next one, at Anfield, against Sheffield United, it's tough,
make sure you're ready and then we have a chance.
Can I just ask you about how things change with Fabinho at centre-back,
he's a different player to Virgil van Dijk, you said he enjoys playing there,
how does that change things from a defensive point of view?
Different players, but both can defend. That's good, that helps obviously.
We all know Fab can play this position, he played it...
..the season before? I don't know which year, but against Bayern Munich,
in the home game, and he played absolutely great,
so I'm not surprised that he can play the position,
but it's all about getting used to each other.
This defensive line hadn't played together before the Ajax game, I don't think,
and that means a lot of things from an organisation point of view,
and you cannot talk about it or exchange notes,
it's just you feel, "That's right, that's wrong, high line, lower line",
and all this kind of stuff, so that's why I said there's a lot to improve,
because these boys need to get used to each other.
But he can play the position - that's it.
Hello, Jürgen, you've been away from Anfield for a couple of days,
how much are you looking forward to returning there,
61 league games unbeaten there now?
Oh, I thought we could do one press conference without mentioning that!
But, yeah, we are really looking forward to playing at home,
I think we have three home games in a row, if I'm right?
That's great, if you ask me we could play 36 times in a row at home,
I just love Anfield, it's a great place, I love our dressing room and everything there,
I love the atmosphere even when the people aren't there because it's just our home.
Yes, we are really looking forward to that.
Can I just ask you about Rhys Williams?
Defensive problems not withstanding, with injuries,
what has impressed you about him? Because he's gone from National League North,
albeit on loan, to now playing a couple of minutes in the Champions League.
Yeah, that's a nice story, and...
I saw it in his eyes after the game that he was pretty impressed by the occasion,
and it's nice. He's a big talent, not only physically big,
and it's nice to have him around. Where he played last year,
I don't even know exactly, but I know it was non-league.
Somewhere in Birmingham, if I'm right. That makes it special,
but for example, Nat Phillips is here as well, and Billy the Kid [Koumetio],
these boys are really around. Nat Phillips we thought would be a transfer,
but then in the last second it didn't happen
and Nat, we all know, we already brought him back from Stuttgart last year
for one game against Everton, where he did really well.
So these are solutions for us and help us a lot,
the boys are great, it's a big opportunity for them.
Like always in life, if something bad happens, when the dust is settled
then you can see the opportunities again. It's all about doing the right things
in the right moment, and for Rhys it was now the first Champions League minutes,
which is nice. But that's how it is.
Hi, Carl.
Can I just clarify, on the fitness issues, you said you're taking it day by day,
does that mean Thiago and Joel Matip are in contention for tomorrow?
I don't know. We have training after the press conference, so we'll see who's out then.
You can only be in contention if you are in training, but in my situation actually,
I don't want to rule anybody out until someone tells me.
And so far, nobody told me, maybe I should have listened better,
but for me everybody apart from the three I mentioned is in contention
until somebody tells me different.
And tomorrow will be Andy Robertson's 100th Premier League appearance,
I'm just wondering if you can talk about his and the side's evolution
and the role he plays? He particularly impressed against Ajax.
Andy Robertson's 100th Premier League game for Liverpool?
Yeah.
And how many altogether, one hundred and thirty something?
OK, great, finally something nice to talk about!
Where can I start with Mr Robertson?
This is a wonderful story, I don't want to go back to his beginnings,
but from the moment he arrived here it's a wonderful story,
and he's established himself on a really high level.
It's much too early to make any assumptions,
but so far it was absolutely good, or even better. I like him as a person very much,
he's pretty chatty, I think we had a few words in Amsterdam,
I was shouting at him like a devil,
and Robbo's character is such that he cannot completely hold back from responding!
But he's like me as well - the game is over and then it's all fine.
As long as you keep yourself together, but that's all good.
I really like working with him because he's a brilliant character and a super player.
Do you like that from players, that they respond to you and...?
No, it's not a conversation usually, just sometimes in the game,
in this game especially it was not about exchanging informations,
it was about kicking their ass so they go for it,
because the game was still open and it was hard for the boys,
and obviously Robbo got a proper, proper knock on his chest,
so it was slightly difficult to breathe,
and human beings are like this, you feel a bit sorry for yourself or whatever,
"Oh, it hurts so much", and then somebody needs to tell you,
"We can talk about that after the final whistle."
That was pretty much my job,
the only problem was that Robbo was directly next to me.
So I shouted at him as loud as I shout to Shaqiri,
who was on the other wing, and that obviously is then different...