Virgil van Dijk Delivers Message to Liverpool Supporters After Fourth Straight Premier League Defeat
Arne Slot described the loss as the worst of his Liverpool tenure so far.
Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile, delivered a heartfelt message to “the people who were celebrating with us last year” after Liverpool’s title defence suffered another major setback on Saturday night.
It was a night to forget for the Reds as they fell 3-2 to Brentford, with goals from Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago handing Liverpool their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat.
The result leaves Arne Slot’s side in seventh place, four points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, and trailing Bournemouth, Manchester United, and newly-promoted Sunderland, who have surged into second.
Speaking after the game, a visibly frustrated Slot admitted the performance ranked among his worst since taking charge.
“Yeah, I think it is up there,” he said when asked if it was his most disappointing result. “Normally when we’re 1-0 or 2-0 down, we show something — but after we went 1-0 down today, that was the only moment I really liked. We didn’t do the basics right. Credit to Brentford — they won their duels, they fought for every second ball, and the energy in the stadium helped them.”
Captain Virgil van Dijk also shared his disappointment, acknowledging that Liverpool’s recent defensive issues have been a collective problem rather than an individual one.
“It’s hard to say,” the Dutchman told TNT Sports. “The truth is we haven’t kept a clean sheet in nine games. It’s easy to blame one player or the back line, but it’s a team issue. Everyone has to look in the mirror — including myself. We’ve spoken about it and we’ll work hard to fix it. We won’t get out of this just by talking.”
He continued: “We’re trying to improve every day in training. It’s tough right now, but we need each other — we need the fans who celebrated with us last season to stick with us now even more. I’m confident we’ll turn it around because we have the quality both in attack and defence. The goal now is simple: to get back to winning ways — and keep a clean sheet.”
Virgil van Dijk: “The fans who were celebrating with us last season should stand by us now.”
