In the aftermath of Liverpool’s unexpected loss to Atalanta, Virgil van Dijk, the team’s captain, seemed to subtly criticize his colleagues for their performance.
The ambition of Liverpool to mark the conclusion of Jurgen Klopp’s tenure with a European trophy suffered a significant setback following their 3-0 defeat to Atalanta during the Europa League quarter-final’s first leg.
- Man Utd star celebrates after Liverpool lose to Atalanta
- Premier League votes for huge change to offside rules with ‘new system’ to be used
- Pochettino ‘frustrated’ with two Chelsea stars as dressing room ‘leak’ reveals inside info
It was a rare defeat at Anfield for Klopp’s team, who hadn’t lost at home since the previous February, yet they were comprehensively outplayed by the Italian club.
Gianluca Scamacca, the ex-West Ham forward, gave Atalanta the lead just before the break, slipping the ball beneath Liverpool’s goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Scamacca then doubled his tally around the 60-minute mark, exploiting lax defending by Liverpool that left him unchallenged in the box.
Liverpool looked to mount a comeback, but their situation deteriorated when Mario Pasalic netted a third goal following Dominik Szoboszlai’s turnover in his own territory.
Van Dijk, addressing the media post-match, seemed to cast blame on his teammates Kelleher and Szoboszlai for the mistakes that contributed to the defeat.
“Obviously it’s half-time [in the tie], we’re 3-0 down, it’s not great,” Van Dijk told TNT Sports.
“A very disappointing evening of course. I think [we made] too many individual mistakes and we got punished for it. This feels bad.”
When asked why Liverpool found it so tough to play with any rhythm, Van Dijk admitted that his and his team-mates’ performances were well below the mark.
“We conceded the goals because we lost the balls in difficult moments, that’s why we were wide open,” he said.
“It’s a collective thing in the end, we have to do much better. We all know it.
“Credit to them [Atalanta], they punished us for being sloppy, especially in possession.
“Obviously we still had chances to do it, to score at least one or two, but unfortunately we didn’t.”
Liverpool will face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday, before they look to overturn the three goal deficit in Italy on Thursday.
