Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday and Virgil van Dijk has given his honest assessment of the result in the Premier League title race
Virgil van Dijk has admitted Liverpool only have themselves to blame after faltering in their title charge against arch rivals Manchester United.
Despite being poised to take a significant lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, the Reds fumbled during their clash with a struggling United side still adjusting to life under new boss Ruben Amorim.
The match ended in a 2-2 draw on Sunday, leaving Liverpool ruing missed opportunities, especially as United players Rasmus Hojlund and Harry Maguire fluffed their lines with superb chances in both halves.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk was raw about the team’s performance: “It could have been a lot worse if we are absolutely honest with ourselves.
“They had a big chance in the end that could have been a lot worse than where we are now. I’m definitely disappointed with dropping points at home but it is what is and we have to move on and we will.
“We found the 2-1 and then it is about trying to manage the game and keep the ball for longer than three and four passes. We lost the ball too easily at times and then we were more open than we should have been. We’re not perfect, we’re still learning and we have to learn from this as well.”
He also asserted that despite United’s current dip resulting in a 13th place standing in the league, Liverpool did not underestimate their adversaries, reports the Mirror.
Arne Slot, in his post-match interview with Match of the Day, clarified his views on the game dynamics: “No, I don’t think that has anything to do with it. It’s just them going into a low block playing here.
“They have quality with the ball and without the ball, difficult to play through. It was so open when they started to play. You can see more how good they are if they are trying to play.
“For the first 75 minutes, [Andre] Onana played the ball long and every free-kick they got, they just hit it forward. In the last 15 minutes, you could see if they play over the ground, how good they are.”