REPORT :Virgil van Dijk breaks down ‘disappointing’ Liverpool defeat and admits ‘reality check’

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has admitted defeat to Nottingham Forest was “disappointing”, admitting the result provided a “reality check”.

   The Reds captain played the full 90 minutes after the defeat as the visitors took all three points from a 1-0 win thanks to a Callum Hudson-Odoi strike.    Both sides come into the game unbeaten, with the Merseysiders boasting an unblemished record after the opening three games of the season.

   But that momentum was brought to a dramatic halt as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side claimed their first win at Anfield since 1969. Now Van Dijk admitted the performance fell short of the expected standards on a day to forget at home, admitting that  consistency will be needed to challenge for the main event.  titles in the league honor the term.

   The Dutchman broke down after the game as he felt things were going wrong for the team as they succumbed to their first defeat under Arne Sloto.    He offered: “Firstly, it was a very disappointing day. The score and most of the performance was too fast and we dropped too many balls.

   “We know how direct they are, so when they play against a strong forward you can sometimes lose the challenge and you have to be ready for the second ball and every time there was a second ball they were on the right.

   “They stepped up when it came to winning the right challenges and they did a very good job, but when we went it alone we weren’t good enough. That’s what disappoints us.”

   On whether the international break affected the rhythm of the team after such a brilliant star in the campaign, he said: “It’s hard to say. Everyone comes back from different places and plays in a different way, but I believe even today when we weren’t at our best, we created chances  and it should be better.

   “But this is a performance with which we are definitely not satisfied, we expect much better from ourselves and losing at home is something that cannot happen,” the club captain continued, promising that the team will try to fix things.    midweek against AC Milan.    “We have to turn around pretty quickly and that will be the focus.”

   Regarding the lack of spark in the performance as the new boss suffered his first defeat since taking over from Jurgen Klopp, Van Dijk added: “We still tried but I think we were in too much of a hurry, we put the ball in the box a bit too quickly  or overplayed and then you don’t get the speed you want.

   “Overall, it was a disappointing afternoon, something we didn’t want to happen, but we have to turn it around and do some kind of reality check to make it better for the rest of the season, because if you want to achieve things this season, the contrast between the games we  played, it’s too big.”