🔗 Share this article

The Liverpool skipper has delivered a scathing assessment of the club's woeful title defence, confessing the reigning champions are in a mess and failing manager Arne Slot while doubting whether all squad members is taking responsibility for the team’s slump.

Van Dijk struggled to hold back his anger after the weekend's 3-0 home defeat by Forest, a result that saw the Reds in the bottom half of the Premier League table with a deficit in goals. Tom Werner was in attendance to observe Liverpool’s sixth defeat in recent outings, their eighth loss in eleven fixtures across every tournament, and a performance that unravelled against a opponent that started the day in the drop zone.

Poor Second Half and Set-Piece Woes

The captain labeled Liverpool’s opening after halftime as “not good enough” and admitted “anxiety set in” as soon as Murillo gave the visitors the advantage. The first goal was the ninth goal Liverpool have conceded from a set piece in the Premier League this season.

“There was a productive three or four days’ preparation but in a game you are facing reality and the truth is we gave away a set piece in the first half and a terrible goal at the beginning after the break,” stated the defender. “We are certainly failing the manager, but we’ve disappointed ourselves as well. You look at yourself first and then you support teammates, you work together to escape of this mess because at the moment it is a difficult situation – that's the reality.

Van Dijk’s Demands: Step Up

The skipper typically addresses the press after a game as part of his role as team leader. Saturday was different, however. His voice was more forceful – so loud that any teammate in the stadium corridors could hear him – and he expressed visible fury while challenging the squad to react. “You should be angry,” he emphasized. “The key point for me is that everyone has to take responsibility.” Asked whether that is happening, Van Dijk replied: “It's unclear. But you have to do that. It’s the main thing I expect the boys to do. It's challenging during tough periods but we must act if we aim to recover of this.”

Squad Investment and Team Problems

The Merseyside club invested almost £450 million to replenish a championship-winning team in the summer but have regressed, with several high-profile signings failing to make an impact so far. Van Dijk insisted that Liverpool’s issues go beyond the recent additions. “It’s tough for everyone,” he said. “What I want is for everyone to take responsibility on the pitch. We have to do that in order to motivate one another, to make each other better. When someone is pressing, you have to follow the effort. It’s basic things but it’s not happening enough.”

Appeal to Stick Together

Van Dijk continued: “In the current term we don’t have any consistency, we concede excessive scores, we are being out-fought and everyone is responsible for it and I trust everyone sees that. We have to accept duty to turn this around and tempting to assign blame but unity is essential. Past successes were collective and won the league and all contributed, and when you go through a tough time you must remain united and not point fingers.

“You have to be a man and confront the hardship and go again, repeatedly because if you want to give up then you are at the wrong place in my eyes, because this club has been enduring numerous challenges over those years and we’ve consistently emerged of it. But it doesn’t mean it is straightforward, it’s exhausting but there is no other way.”

Looking Ahead

Next up in the domestic league is a visit to London Stadium next weekend, after the midweek visit of PSV in the European competition. Van Dijk commented: “The next game is another opportunity so how should I respond, dwell on the loss? No, I'll return and try to think how we can improve results and I trust that is the collective focus as well.”