Virgil van Dijk has conceded that Liverpool are not handling the pressure that comes with conceding first, but insisted that it “is human when you’re in a difficult moment.”
Liverpool slumped to a new low in their 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, with a positive start to the match crumbling after conceding first for the ninth time in the last 11 matches.
For the eighth time, they showed no powers of recovery as Arne Slot, again, struggled to oversee his side wrestle back momentum, seeing the Reds slump into 11th in the league table.
Van Dijk, as he is tasked to as captain, fronted the media after the latest defeat and admitted that there is a “nervousness” after Liverpool concede, with the players then feeling the need to “rush.”
Liverpool “were not good in the fight” in Forest defeat
“We concede too many easy goals,” Van Dijk told Premier League Productions. “We were not good in terms of battles, challenges, the fight, too rushed. It’s a very difficult situation at the moment.
“There was nervousness after we conceded, but not before. We tried to rush things and that’s human when you’re in a difficult moment.
“We cleared the ones before and in the end, we’re in a very difficult moment. We don’t get out of it by just speaking about it. It will take a lot of hard work.
“Everyone in the team has to take responsibility as well,” the captain stressed. “Football is a team sport and everyone has to take responsibility.
“We have to digest this and take it on the chin. We need to work harder. We have to keep going.”
For the eighth time across the last 11 games, Liverpool have been in a losing position at halftime, failing to win any to see the pressure mount and the spotlight grow harsher on Slot.
Virgil van Dijk says he is “not a quitter”
Liverpool made it too easy for their opponents, even Morgan Gibbs-White expressed after the match that Forest “felt comfortable even though we didn’t have the ball.”
It points to a big issue for the Reds, but Van Dijk held back in his assessment of what it meant to lose to Forest at Anfield as he instead insisted he is “not a quitter.”
“Everyone is disappointed, like they should be, because losing at home to Nottingham Forest is, in my eyes, very bad. That’s the least I can say about it,” Van Dijk said.
“Those goals we conceded are far too easy and we all have to look in the mirror.
“I’ve been at this club so long now and we’ve been through adversity. We will bounce back but it doesn’t happen overnight. I’m not a quitter, we will keep going.
“I can’t decide what the supporters are doing if they leave early. I know the fans have been through thick and thin with us.
“They will be there with us when we come out of this because we will come out of this.”
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