Virgil van Dijk issued an eight-word message to his teammates in the dressing room following Liverpool's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. The Premier League champions are enduring a sobering October, with their first home loss to the Red Devils since 2016 marking a fourth straight defeat after setbacks against Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, and Chelsea.
A run like this is unfamiliar territory on the red half of Merseyside - their last of such kind coming in November 2014, when Brendan Rodgers was in the dugout. The most worrying part, however, isn’t that they spent more than anyone in world football over the summer trying to fix the roof while the sun was still shining on last season’s success, but rather that no one seems to have the faintest idea how to get the train back on the tracks.
Record signings Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak currently look like expensive passengers, while the old guard - namely Mohamed Salah and Van Dijk himself - are starting to show their age. Yet, while the outside world might start sounding the alarm and hypothesising about a cobra meeting taking place in the dressing room, those on the inside suggest very differently.
Liverpool's Dressing Room After Man United Defeat
Liverpool manager Arne Slot applauds fans after the match
Premier League - Liverpool v Manchester United - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - October 19, 2025 Liverpool manager Arne Slot applauds fans after the match REUTERS/Phil Noble
Football can be fickle - so much so that supporters can very quickly forget Slot is the same manager in charge of the Reds' Premier League title-winning campaign last term. It also seems that many have forgotten this is the same level-headed Dutchman who refuses to panic when the tough gets going.
And so, any suggestion that Anfield's home dressing room was like a powder keg, waiting to explode into a storm of frustration and finger-pointing, is wildly off the mark, according to the Daily Mail's overview of what took place following their most crushing defeat yet. While Slot was depicted as a relaxed figure, captain Van Dijk's message to his teammates was put plain and simple (see his Instagram post following the defeat below):
"You cannot hide, you have to keep going."
The 34-year-old also told the squad that mental recovery is as important as physical rest before boarding the flight to Germany on Tuesday lunchtime, where they will face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League in a quick turnaround on their fixture list.
This time last year, a team supposedly in transition turned out to have all the hallmarks of champions in waiting. Before Slot’s first game, most people - including the Dutchman himself - expected it would take time for the side to gel. But with just one arrival last summer compared to a turnover of more than 15 players this time around, it’s clear the real restructuring period is kicking in now.
As Slot flashed a few wry smiles at reporters after Sunday afternoon’s loss, he remained as placid as ever. At the end of the day, he knows full well that he has star power at his fingertips to turn things around, and so any real crisis is a long way off from his perspective.
Arne Slot and Van Dijk
The show must go on, and with only four points separating the Reds from the summit of English football - where title favourites Arsenal currently reside over the rest of the Premier League - a bit of reflection is needed to realise that things aren’t quite as bad as they may appear - or rather, how rivals wish to see things, at least.
Regardless, Slot and co. will want to put things right quickly, starting with a trip to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday night, followed by a visit to the capital to take on Brentford. Luckily, between themselves, Arsenal, and Man City, they have the easiest run between now and the turn of the new year.