Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk insists his team do not deserve to win the league after their meek surrender in the Merseyside Derby defeat, with the Dutchman saying the players cannot accept how they let their season end.
Everton were a deserved 2-0 winner at Goodison Park, their first defeat to Liverpool at home since 2010 and just Jurgen Klopp’s second defeat overall in the match. The Reds have been poor at both ends of the pitch and have now almost lost the Premier League title.
And Van Dijk came out swinging by saying his team have not shown enough fight to give Klopp a fairytale ending to his almost nine years at Anfield. “In games like this, fighting is the bare minimum,” the defender said.
‘We lacked that in so many moments: small challenges, some passes were not clear, so we got into challenges that they won and they got momentum from that. They had I don’t know how many set pieces. That can make a difference because it is a strength of theirs.
“But we have to look in the mirror and each 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 the way we did. today you don’t deserve to win the competition”.
Virgil van Dijk has slammed his Liverpool teammates after their defeat to Everton
He believes Liverpool do not deserve to win the league after their ‘unacceptable’ performance
Van Dijk called on Jurgen Klopp’s flops to look themselves in the mirror as he accused them of lack of fight
‘So now it’s time to recover and pick ourselves up again because we have to do it for ourselves, the club and the fans. It’s not just that you go out there and play your game, you have to do a lot more than that.
‘If we play like today and let it slip away like today, you don’t even have to 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 at this part of the season. We cannot accept this.
‘We kept doing our thing all season: playing matches, finding ways to win, even with red cards, even with last-minute winners. We have continued to do so and that is our great achievement. But now it’s time and we haven’t been good enough in the way we finish the chances.
‘(That is) in the way we defended together and also in the fight. I think we have a lot more to show. What I said: 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 appear to be running out of steam and ideas, but he is ready to pick himself back up and inspire the group to improve. “In the second half we ran out of steam and ideas, but it’s hard to say because we have to be a unit,” he said.
Van Dijk admitted Liverpool appear to be running out of steam at a crucial point in the season and has urged the team to bounce back and finish the campaign strongly.
Luis Diaz (left) came closest to scoring for Liverpool when he hit the post, while Dominik Szoboszlai (right) was sent off after a struggle at Goodison Park just after the hour mark.
Darwin Nunez missed a big chance in the first half and was clearly frustrated by Liverpool’s full-time performance
‘We’ve spoken to the team and everyone agrees, but on match 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. It starts with defense and as always it starts from the front and goes to the back.
‘I have been through a lot of things in life and I will pick myself up and the team. That is the responsibility I have. It’ll be fine. We’ll be back on Thursday (on the training ground), have a meeting and show the reaction against West Ham (Saturday).
‘If we have a bad result, we always talk about showing a reaction, but now we cannot simply accept that. We cannot simply accept that we are letting the season pass like this. It’s just disappointing.’