Virgil van Dijk has urged his Liverpool teammates to "look in the mirror" after another woeful result.
The Reds were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday to drop out of the Premier League's top half. Murillo, Nicola Savona, and Morgan Gibbs-White all scored for Forest, as several Liverpool players failed to impress.
Van Dijk spoke to Premier League productions after the game and admitted the team's "nervousness." It's the second consecutive game the Reds have lost 3-0, with Manchester City beating them before the international break. Arne Slot's players have lost six of their last seven games in the Premier League and are now surely out of the title race.
"We concede too many easy goals," said Van Dijk. "They scored obviously from a set piece again. You can ask if he was in front of Alisson, but it counted, so we're 1-0 down. We were not good in terms of battles, challenges, the fight, too rushed.
"It's a very difficult situation at the moment. There was nervousness after we conceded, but not before.
"We tried to rush things, and that's human when you're in a difficult moment. We cleared the ones before, and in the end, we're in a very difficult moment. We don't get out of it by just speaking about it. It will take a lot of hard work.
The Reds were hopeless on Saturday
The Reds were hopeless on Saturday (Image: Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
"It's a problem. Everyone in the team has to take responsibility as well. Football is a team and everyone has to take responsibility. We have to digest this and take it on the chin. We need to work harder. We have to keep going.
"Everyone is disappointed, like they should be, because losing at home to Nottingham Forest is, in my eyes, very bad.
"That's the least I can say about it. Those goals we conceded are far too easy, and we all have to look in the mirror.
"I've been at this club so long now, and we've been through adversity. We will bounce back, but it doesn't happen overnight. I'm not a quitter, and we will keep going."
There were a few Liverpool supporters who left Anfield early on Saturday. When asked about that, Van Dijk said: "I can't decide what the supporters are doing if they leave early.
"I know the fans have been through thick and thin with us. They will be there with us when we come out of this because we will come out of this."
Gibbs-White also spoke to Premier League Productions at full-time. He said: "I didn't expect it (the win), but it's happened.
"I'm out there trying to help the team as much as possible. I thought the boys were brilliant today. Delighted we got the three points, but I hope we're out of the relegation zone.
"We felt comfortable even though we didn't have the ball. We were defensively secure, and that's credit to the boys and the manager (Sean Dyche). Delighted to get another goal, but we got a clean sheet and three points at Anfield, which is an incredible thing."