What Virgil van Dijk has actually said about reasons for Liverpool’s “tough season”

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With quotes from Virgil van Dijk being shared widely on social media, we have heard what the Liverpool captain actually said about the reasons for Liverpool’s “tough season.” Against Chelsea, Liverpool suffered a third consecutive defeat for the first time under Arne Slot, leading Van Dijk to reflect on the team’s dip in form. “It was always going to be ups and downs for multiple reasons that we shouldn’t forget, and all we have to do is stick together.

“But obviously first we’ve got internationals and then we focus on a very big one at Anfield.” The death of a teammate is a completely valid cause for your mentality affected at times, but it isn’t the entire reason for Liverpool’s poor performances – and Van Dijk hasn’t tried to suggest this. Some would say Liverpool should have settled for a draw, but Van Dijk said: “I think we’re always going to play and try and win the game.

“You say in the end we play with two midfielders in the last lines (Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch) so we try everything and that’s how we always do it, and obviously if we are up we try to defend the lead. And that’s how we’ve always been doing with Liverpool, and we’ve been through a lot of ups and downs and that’s the only way to stick together.”