Liverpool Captain Van Dijk Demands Improvement After Two Defeats In A Row

‎Liverpool captain, Virgil van Dijk, urged his team to cut out mistakes and show improvement after a 1-0 Champions League defeat to Galatasaray on Tuesday.

‎The match also saw goalkeeper Alisson forced off with an injury, adding to the setback. It marked Liverpool’s second straight loss following the end of their perfect Premier League run at Crystal Palace last weekend.

‎”I hate losing. There shouldn’t be panic, but improvement should definitely be needed,” the Dutch centre back said on Amazon Prime.

‎”I think it was a big step up in terms of the willingness, the hard work that we put in from the weekend, but that was not really too difficult because the weekend was just bad.

‎”We have to convert chances, don’t give a penalty away today, and don’t make stupid mistakes at times. It’s far too easy to say these things than to actually make them happen, but it’s a process and we have to keep going.

‎”Keep working, stick together, and onto the next one. That’s the only thing we can focus on.”

‎Liverpool lost out to an early penalty, slotted home by Victor Osimhen, in a game played in an intimidating cauldron of a stadium after fireworks had been let off outside the team hotel overnight.

‎Manager Arne Slot said he was disappointed, but the performance was still considerably better than last Saturday, and it all came down to fine margins, with the team not far off last season’s level.

‎”We’ve lost twice in a row; this is something with the schedule coming as well. Galatasaray away is not an easy game, the same as Palace, and now we play Chelsea away, so it’s a difficult game,” he explained.

‎”I saw a lot of things. First half, the way we played, the way we controlled the game, the number of times we got our attackers in promising positions.

‎”In the second half, that was much less. But I don’t think in the second half there was a lot of playing time. Their striker was four or five times on the floor, substitutions, injuries.”

‎Alisson’s loss, with the goalkeeper ruled out of Saturday’s game at Chelsea, is a big one and Liverpool also had Hugo Ekitike go off injured.

‎Liverpool is struggling with attacking options as record signing Alexander Isak remains short of full fitness, only coming on as a second-half substitute alongside Mohamed Salah.

‎Several new arrivals are still adapting, making the potential loss of a proven scorer like Hugo Ekitike a major blow.

‎Salah’s dip in form is another worry, as he last began a Champions League match on the bench three years ago and offered little influence after coming on.