Van Dijk demands quick improvement at Liverpool after defeat to Crystal Palace

Van Dijk demands improvements after Liverpool’s defeat to Crystal Palace

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has urged his team to “stay calm” after the 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace. The Dutch defender admitted they will need to improve “very quickly” if they aim for success this season. The Premier League champions suffered their first defeat of the campaign at Selhurst Park, due to a late goal from Palace substitute Eddie Nketiah. This result allows Arsenal, one of the title rivals, to reduce the distance with the league leaders to just two points if they manage to win against Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.

We are disappointed with our performance and with the defeat, but especially with the way we played. If we had drawn, I think we would have gotten one more point. That’s the feeling we have now.

Virgil van Dijk

Van Dijk added that there is no reason to worry, but that they must improve quickly, as they face Galatasaray in the Champions League in Turkey on Tuesday. “We have a very difficult match there as well, so we must be ready,” he stated.

Virgil van Dijk demands improvements after Liverpool’s defeat.After becoming masters of late goals this season, Liverpool thought they had managed to salvage a valuable point against Palace when Federico Chiesa, who came on as a substitute, equalized the score in the 87th minute. However, Oliver Glasner’s team could have sealed the match in the first half, with Alisson Becker making a series of important saves after Ismalia Sarr’s opening goal.

It was the basics that we didn’t do well. Sometimes you can have these days. Let’s hope this is the only day of the season this happens.

Virgil van Dijk

Van Dijk also commented that the opponent was a very difficult team to overcome, disciplined and that defends as a block, but that also has the quality to hurt on the counterattack. The Reds defender added that the team was careless in possession, did not win the second balls and gave them control of the match. “We were lucky to have, in my opinion, the best goalkeeper in the world to save us. If we had drawn, we would have had one more point,” he concluded. The Liverpool defender added: “There are many challenges throughout the season. Everyone has to deal with it in their own way, but obviously, as a team, we also have to deal with it. The biggest challenge now is to remain calm. I’ve mentioned it many times: never get carried away by euphoria or disappointment. Just work and don’t listen too much to the outside world. You know when you can do better and everyone knew it today. We have another opportunity on Tuesday in a very interesting stadium, with a great fanbase, in the Champions League, to turn it around again and focus on the next one and the next match.”