Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has called for perspective after a damaging week for the Reds, who have lost three games in a row in all competitions
Virgil van Dijk has urged Liverpool to remember their status as Premier League champions and pleaded with pundits not to blame their dip in form on the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Reds suffered their third consecutive defeat on Saturday when Chelsea clinched a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge, thanks to Estevao Willian’s last-minute goal.
This defeat followed a 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday night and a 2-1 setback against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park the previous weekend.
Van Dijk acknowledges that the high turnover of players this season was bound to result in a difficult adjustment period within the revamped squad, but it’s not all down to Trent’s exit.
“It’s not about him. He had amazing quality but he left us. Last year, we played a lot of games without him as well. Obviously we were all gutted that he left in the summer, but that is not the issue,” he said.
“How we work, it happened all season last year, and everything was positive and everyone was happy, and now we have a little blip, if you want to call it like that, and now we need everyone more than ever to support us and be there for us.
“It is not that easy [to sum up the problems]. Obviously [new players adjusting] plays a part as well, but that shouldn’t be the only focus. It is a combination of everything.
“It is down to us to work to turn this around and find consistency, to not concede goals, to score goals, to create, to not give up chances against us.
“How we work, it happened all season last year, and everything was positive and everyone was happy, and now we have a little blip, if you want to call it like that, and now we need everyone more than ever to support us and be there for us.
“Like I said, every three or four days is another opportunity, after the international break now, to find that momentum and consistency, and keep it.
“I’ve been at the club for such a long time, there have been many difficult situations and we got out of them. It’s not for everyone to just accept it and move on, but the only thing we can do is focus on the next opportunity we have and work on it.
“Obviously now everyone goes to different countries and everyone has the responsibility to try and stay fit and do well.
“But when we come back, we have a very big game against Manchester United where I am already very much looking forward to it. It’s an opportunity again to show what we have been showing last year throughout the whole season.
“That is the reason we became champions and made so many people around the world happy. Now we need the chance to get to that point again, and work is the basis to it, finding consistency and sticking together.”
He encouraged everyone at Anfield to recall how they stormed to the title with a 10-point lead last season.
“It was always going to be a difficult season,” Van Dijk stated. “I mentioned it from the very start already. We have to go through this as one, not only us as players but also the staff and our fans who celebrated being champions, which is something we shouldn’t forget.
“It was a quite open game, of course, in the second half especially. Both teams trying to go for the win and to concede like that is obviously not a great feeling, especially going into the international break.”
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