Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk said the club's new-look defence needs time to gel as the team rebuilds following departures and injuries ahead of the new season [1, 2, 3].

The Reds signed Uruguay international Ronald Araujo on a season-long loan from Barcelona and welcomed French defender Jeremy Jacquet, who joined officially in summer after a February signing. Both players appeared in a 2-0 friendly win over Italian club Como at Anfield on August 16th, with Jacquet scoring a goal and playing 45 minutes before Araujo replaced him at halftime [1, 2, 3].

Liverpool lost Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson in the transfer window, while Joe Gomez is sidelined with a muscle injury, forcing manager Jurgen Klopp to rebuild the defence [1, 2, 3]. Van Dijk praised Jacquet and Araujo's performances, calling it "a good start" but emphasizing the need for more games to form a strong defensive connection. "By playing games. I won't say it's the only way, but games are totally different than training. Obviously, Jeremy's English is, I would say, a bit better than Ronald, but at the end of the day, we all pretty good footballers and we can see and smell some moments, how to defend certain situations," Van Dijk told reporters on August 18th [1].

Van Dijk also noted the challenge of maintaining full intensity throughout matches. "No team in world football can play full intensity for 90 minutes. Obviously at a certain point, you're gonna have some moments where players — or we all — get to a position where we're gonna be a bit tired. Then it's down to us to make sure that we are compact and find the right moment to press again," he said [3].

Jacquet made his first appearance since dislocating his shoulder in February and was visibly fatigued after 45 minutes on the pitch. Van Dijk said recovery and fitness improvements are underway as Liverpool prepare for their Premier League season opener [3].

Liverpool finished fifth in the English top flight last season, missing out on Champions League qualification [1, 2]. Their new campaign begins with an away match at Newcastle United on August 23rd [1, 2, 3].

Van Dijk and Liverpool will look to build defensive cohesion in the coming weeks to ensure a strong start to the Premier League season.