Van Dijk hits out at teammates after poor Liverpool form and performances, losing 6 out of the 7 league games.
Virgil van Dijk admits Liverpool are in a mess and hits out at teammates.
In a blistering critique of Liverpool’s dismal championship defence, club captain Virgil van Dijk acknowledged that the champions are in a mess and disappointed Arne Slot while wondering whether each player is to blame for the team’s poor performance.
Following Saturday’s 3-0 home loss to Nottingham Forest, which dropped Liverpool to the bottom half of the standings with a negative goal differential, Van Dijk was unable to control his rage. The American chair of the team, Tom Werner, was present at Anfield when Liverpool suffered their sixth loss in seven Premier League games, their eighth loss in eleven games in all competitions, and a disastrous performance against a Forest team that had begun the day in the relegation zone.
Van Dijk called Liverpool’s second-half performance “unacceptable” and said that “panic kicked in” as soon as Murillo gave Sean Dyche’s team the lead. Liverpool has given up nine goals from set pieces in the Premier League this season, including Forest’s first goal.
“We had a great three or four days’ preparation but in a game you are dealing with facts and the facts are we conceded a set piece in the first half and a terrible goal at the start of the second half,” said Van Dijk. “We are definitely letting him [Slot] down, but we’ve let ourselves down as well. You look at yourself first and then you help each other, you help each other get out of this mess because at the moment it is a mess – that’s just a fact.
“As the champions we can’t be in the situation we are in right now. What are we going to do about it? We’re going to try to turn it around and that’s the mentality everyone should have.”
“You should be angry,” he insisted. “The main thing for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.” Asked whether that is happening, Van Dijk replied: “I don’t know. But you have to do that. It’s the main thing I want the boys to do. It’s not easy during difficult times but we have to do it if we want to get out of this.”