Image Credits: Imago Images
Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool head into another international break with a bitter taste.
Last month, the club pause was hailed as an opportunity for the players to reset and get some time away from the dark clouds hanging over the AXA Training Center.
However, this time, Reds fans are now aware that the issues are deeper lying and won’t just be fixed by a few weeks away from Merseyside.
This marks the heaviest defeat Liverpool have suffered in the Premier League since Arne Slot took charge, and it is also the first time in nearly 14 months that the team has failed to find the net in a top-flight fixture.
With 17 goals conceded already, Liverpool’s defence has looked increasingly fragile.
Arne Slot has refused to put the blame on his players however, and revealed post-match that the game-plan could have been better:
“It was difficult for some of our players then to make the right decisions. It wasn’t about my players not wanting to make duels, they had to run a lot because they were so much better on the ball than us,” the Dutchman said.
“Our players were then sometimes too late.”
“I would look to the game-plan first and foremost of us and them and not blame my players at all.”
The result leaves Liverpool eighth in the Premier League standings, eight points adrift of leaders Arsenal and now boasting five league defeats from their opening eleven matches.
However, Virgil van Dijk has issued a message to Reds fans on Instagram, writing:
“Thanks. This too, shall pass. See you after the break.”
Club football now pauses for the international break, with Liverpool facing Nottingham Forest at Anfield on the 22nd of November.
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