Virgil van Dijk knows Xavi Simons did not set out to hurt him, as he lunged in recklessly during Liverpool's win over Tottenham on Saturday.

Van Dijk was on the end of a rash challenge from his compatriot Simons midway through the first half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Simons was initially booked, but after a VAR review, referee John Brooks sent the playmaker off.

Liverpool went on to win 2-1, holding on during a frantic finale in which Spurs also had captain Cristian Romero sent off.

Simons dragged his studs down the back of Van Dijk's leg, but the Liverpool skipper has no ill-will towards his Netherlands team-mate.

"I don't think there was any intention to hurt me, but obviously, he hurt me and then the referee and the VAR made the decision to send him off," the defender said, as quoted by ESPN. "I spoke to him. It's a chat that no-one needs to know."

Alexander Isak opened the scoring before Hugo Ekitike made it 2-0, but Richarlison's goal dragged Spurs back into the contest late on.

Liverpool then had their backs to the wall, even against nine men. Van Dijk conceded it was not pretty, but stressed what is important is that the Reds got the job done.

"When you concede a goal and their fans get behind them like they did, it's never easy to make the right decisions and find the right solutions," he added. 

"That's something we can improve, but I don't think it's worrying. It's a transition, and we need to keep getting better.

"Winning more, getting results, is always positive. Losing games, especially at a club like Liverpool, is always bad. For us, it's about staying calm, [and] taking each game as it comes.

"Today, we won. Now, we have a couple of days off. We will recover, and then we will focus on Wolves. It will be a tough game. I saw their game against Spurs. Wolves will make it difficult for us, and we have to be ready for that.

"First, we have Christmas. Being with your family and being healthy are the most important things in life."

While Isak netted his second league goal for the Reds, his celebrations were cut short, with the former Newcastle United forward having taken a whack from Micky van de Ven in the process.

He immediately had to be taken off, making him just the second player to be subbed on, score and then be subbed off for Liverpool in a Premier League game, after Yossi Benayoun against Manchester City in November 2009.

"Injuries, unfortunately, are part of football," Van Dijk said of Isak. "He scored a great goal. It's too soon after the game to know [the extent of it]. He will need to be assessed. We all saw how bad it looked with Alex, but hopefully it won't be too bad."