Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk insists his team do not deserve to win the league after their meek surrender in the Merseyside Derby defeat, and the Dutchman says the players cannot accept how they are letting their season end.
Everton deservedly won 2-0 at Goodison Park, their first defeat to Liverpool at home since 2010 and only Jurgen Klopp’s second overall defeat in the match. The Reds were poor at both ends of the pitch and have now almost conceded the Premier League title.
And Van Dijk came out on top in saying his team has not shown enough fight to give Klopp a fairytale ending to his almost nine years at Anfield. “In games like this, the minimum is to fight,” said the defender.
“We lacked that in many moments: small challenges, some passes that were not clear, so we faced challenges that they won and gained momentum.” They were having I don’t know how many set pieces. That could make a difference because it is one of their strengths.
“But we have to look in the mirror and each and every one of us has to think, ‘Listen, you can’t accept this, you can’t accept the way we let our season end, if you play like we did.'” Not today. “You deserve to win the League.”
Virgil van Dijk harshly criticized his Liverpool teammates after their defeat against Everton
He believes Liverpool do not deserve to win the league after their ‘unacceptable’ performance
Van Dijk asked that Jurgen Klopp’s failures be looked in the mirror and accused them of a lack of fight
“So now is the time to bounce back and get up again because we have to do it for ourselves, the club and the fans. It’s not just about you going out and playing your game, you have to do a lot more than that.
“If we play like today and let it slip away like today, then you shouldn’t even think about (the title). It’s a mix of everything. You can’t put your finger on it: confidence, inexperience, challenges, maybe fear of making mistakes in this part of the season. We cannot accept this.
“We just kept doing our thing (all season long): playing games, finding ways to win, even with red cards, even with last-minute winners.” We continue to do that and that is our great merit. But now is crunch time and we haven’t been good enough in the way we take advantage of opportunities.
‘(That’s) in the way we defended together and also in the fight. I think we have to show a lot more. “What I’ve already said is that everyone has to look in the mirror, come back tomorrow and we can’t let the season end like this.”
Van Dijk added that Liverpool seem to have run out of steam and ideas, but are ready to bounce back and inspire the group to improve. “In the second half we ran out of strength and ideas, but it’s hard to say because we have to be a unit,” he said.
Van Dijk admitted Liverpool appear to have run out of steam at a crucial time in the season and urged the team to bounce back and finish the campaign strongly.
“We had conversations with the team and everyone is on board, but on game day that’s what counts.” It’s a disappointing night for all of us and we have to look at ourselves and we can’t accept this, turn around and finish as much as we can.
‘We can’t have groups blaming each other because that’s not how it works. It’s a team thing and I don’t blame anyone. I blame us as a team, as a group, and we have to do much better. He starts defending and, as always, starts from the front and goes back.
‘I’ve been through a lot in life and I will lift myself and the team up. That is the responsibility I have. It will be OK. On Thursday we will be back (at the training ground), we will meet and show the reaction against West Ham (on Saturday).
“Obviously, when we have a bad result, we always talk about showing a reaction, but now we can’t just accept it. We can’t just accept the fact that we’re going to let the season go like this. It’s just disappointing.”