West Ham and the Metropolitan Police confirmed on Wednesday that they were investigating an allegation of racial abuse directed at Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah.
Gylfi Sigurdsson got one back for Everton in stoppage-time.
"Fabinho is a brilliant player. To have a good footballer in that position when you have the ball is great," said Klopp.
But the early days of 2019 suggest their uncharacteristic December collapse is firmly behind them.
Van Dijk, meanwhile, became the first defender to win the player of the month award since Tottenham Hotspur's Belgium's Jan Vertonghen achieved that feat in Mar. 2013.
Despite a combination of nerves and fatigue at the end of a gruelling festive period, the game swung from end to end in the second-half.
"My feeling is last season it was a little bit easier to maintain that hunger because 80 percent of the players had not won anything in their lives.
Although the season has only just passed the halfway point, the game has a decisive feel as City look to make up the ground they need to retain their title.
"They are a really strong football team with an outstanding manager. We have to be prepared as well as possible," Klopp said.
Now Liverpool have extended that ability for short destructive bursts into a title challenge for the long haul.
