Liverpool were accused of giving up in the defeat to Manchester City, with manager Virgil van Dijk harshly criticizing their effort, but teammate Florian Wirths doesn’t share the same view.
Florian Wirtz rejects the idea that Liverpool gave up after defeat to Man City
Florian Wirtz has said he “disagree” with Virgil van Dijk’s assessment that Liverpool lost the FA Cup to Manchester City.
The Reds were put on the back foot at the Etihad as their rivals overtook them four times without a response. It saw another trophy pass in front of them, but what was more worrying was the manner of the performance, which saw the players’ attitude come under fire from some players.
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick, Antoine Semenho also scored, and Liverpool captain Van Dijk led the way after the defeat, insisting: “We shouldn’t give up. At some point, that’s what happened. We let the fans down, we let ourselves down, and we let the manager down. The way we played, especially in the second half, it must have hurt for everyone. It definitely hurt.”
Wirtz played in the loss, but felt his assessment of the Dutch player, who he didn’t know until asked, was off the mark, citing the team’s desire to push the opposition.
“I didn’t know he said this, but I won’t agree directly because we are still trying to create a chance to turn the game around,” the German said.
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“Of course, it’s hard to go back and forth when the game is long and you’re mentally leading 3-0 in the 80th minute. When it was 3-0 or 4-0, we still had a chance and we just tried to do our best in the game. Of course losing 4-0 against City is not our standard. We wanted to get through that round. We need to do better next year and be better on the pitch.”
Arne Slott echoed his captain’s thoughts, admitting that there was a lack of fighting from his side. Liverpool’s manager is under pressure to deliver Champions League football as talks continue over whether he will be shown the door.
Virgil van Dijk judged City defeat by pulling no punches (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
He said, “In the first 10 minutes after half-time there was a clear lack of fighting spirit, but after that it was a game where both teams accepted the result, 4-0.”
Slott won the title in his first year in charge, but they have struggled mightily after a summer revamp that saw them spend more than £400m and break British transfer records twice, one of Werts’ own transfer records. However, the former Bayer Leverkusen man insists the players are still behind the manager.
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“Yes, of course. We believe in the manager and the team won the league last season so you should believe in the manager and we have had a lot of good games this season. We hoped it would be better but it is what it is. We still have a lot to play and all I can say is to believe in the manager and do our best on the pitch tomorrow.”
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