Virgil van Dijk has explained the pain and anger Liverpool feel, at giving themselves an “impossible job” in their quest for Champions League redemption.
Van Dijk insisted he and his team mates must now face the “hard reality” of their humiliation and put things right.
“We were 2-0 up and we gave it away because of mistakes we made against Real Madrid – who punish you immediately. That is the hard reality,” he explained.
- Van Dijk fires back at criticism of Liverpool’s defending in Real Madrid beating
- Vinicius Jr brutally trolls Liverpool fans with Cristiano Ronaldo gesture at Anfield
- Timo Werner slams Tuchel & blames Romelu Lukaku for Chelsea failure
“The only thing we can do in this case is watch it and make sure it doesn’t happen in the next game we play, which is Crystal Palace. It sounds pretty easy but it isn’t – but that’s the hard reality.”
Van Dijk was downbeat after the defeat at Anfield, but still had the courage to come and front up to the pain after the game.
He said there was also an anger at the way they ell, and he said that is something the Reds must not forget as they strive to save their campaign.
“Everyone is angry, everyone is obviously disappointed. And the way we lost, almost not giving ourselves a chance in Madrid, is tough. It’s hard that we have almost an impossible job in Madrid,” he said.
“It is difficult, but it is the hard reality and something we have to deal with, we have to deal with as a group, as a unit. It’s not been the easiest season so far but the only way to get out of it is to stick together and that’s the message – even after now.”
But the defender explained that for all the frustration at the errors, players are only human and they have to learn from them, not be beaten down by them. “We’re not robots,” he said.
“It is pretty clear to see [we made] mistakes that we shouldn’t make, but the only thing we can do is learn from it and focus on the next one – and don’t be in panic. Obviously we are all disappointed we lost, that is how we should be.”
When asked if it was a football thing or a mental thing, he said: “A football thing. You play football also with your head but it is a football thing. You make mistakes and they punish you. That’s the only thing I can say, you know, losing is never good.”
