Virgil van Dijk did not shy away from words when discussing Liverpool’s performance against Wolves, with the Dutchman taking aim at himself and his team-mates
Virgil van Dijk criticizes Liverpool’s performance at Molineux
Virgil van Dijk claimed Liverpool’s shock defeat to Wolves was “our own fault”, describing their attacking misfire as “slow” and “predictable”.
The Reds, who had hoped to qualify for the Champions League, were dealt a blow at Molineux when the bottom team in the Premier League scored the deciding goal in stoppage time. They had taken the lead earlier, but Mohamed Salah capitalized on a mistake to equalize.
However, Liverpool’s front line struggled to penetrate a defense that had already scored 51 goals this season. Since their torrid start to the season, the Merseysiders have struggled for consistency in form and performances.
Coach Van Dijk lamented the way they played, admitting that he was hardly dissatisfied with the result, but firmly placed the blame on himself.
“I think it’s our own fault. We were slow, we were predictable, we were sloppy in possession, we made some bad decisions. We didn’t concede any chances, but with a performance like that you could end up with a result like that, and that’s true. It was disappointing.”
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Arne Slott admitted throughout the season that Liverpool have struggled to make the most of the ball, especially when playing against opposing teams. They found it difficult to get going against Wolves as Van Dijk bemoaned his productivity in possession.
“In recent games, we are overanalyzing why and what is happening on the pitch,” said the Dutchman. “We want to start the game as well as we can as a team. In the last game we had the majority of the ball today, but we still made bad decisions and couldn’t find the final product.”
Liverpool’s backline was penetrated twice by Wolves
Liverpool have already lost nine times this season and the champions face the possibility of missing out on the Champions League despite spending more than £400m in the summer. Van Dijk, like Slott, continued to mention the issues that were hindering their game throughout the year.
After the shock defeat, the Reds manager insisted: “In the end, we scored one point, they scored two points, and we actually scored again in extra time. So this game summed up our season as well.”
Liverpool’s next assignment will see him return to Wolves, this time in the FA Cup, and play twice in three days at Molineux.
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