Liverpool fans were given an almighty lift on Sunday after seeing Virgil van Dijk head home a last-second winner against Everton.
The Reds had looked set to claim what would have been a decent point at the Hill Dickinson Stadium before the captain popped up to send the travelling supporters into delirium.
Steven Gerrard was seen dancing in celebration after Van Dijk’s goal, but while Liverpool fans finally had a memorable result to hang their hat on this season, the reaction of the players from inside the dressing room suggests that all is still not well behind the scenes.
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Liverpool players downbeat after Everton win
There were some great scenes of celebration on the pitch at full-time on Sunday as Andy Robertson and Mohamed Salah took the adulation of Liverpool fans on the occasion of their final Merseyside Derby.
But when the Sky Sports cameras later panned to Arne Slot speaking to his players inside the away dressing room at the Hill Dickinson, the mood was noticeably more downbeat.
Curtis Jones sat with his arms firmly folded, while many of the Liverpool players looked at the floor or aimlessly away as Slot spoke.
“Looking at that dressing room you’d think they got beat!” Jamie Carragher noted, with good reason.
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“I thought they’d be a lot more excited, last-minute winner away from home at your biggest rivals.”
Clearly, Liverpool have had a rough go recently, and perhaps it shows a good mentality that they do not see a win at Everton as anything much to celebrate. But this should still have been a moment to really bring this team together. Instead, the camaraderie within the dressing room looks to be at an all-time low.
Liverpool do not look like a team
There are obviously reasons behind Liverpool players not quite being as animated as you would expect here.
They are in a poor position in the Premier League table despite a recent pick-up, and finishing in the Champions League spots is not really something to go overboard with at such a decorated club.
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Virgil van Dijk and Curtis Jones celebrate after Van Dijk scores during Liverpool's Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium (Credit Getty Images/Liverpool FC).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC
While that is fine, perhaps the more worrying cause is that this is still a team who are getting used to each other, with plenty of players still bedding in.
After almost a year, you would hope that the new signings would have found their feet a little more, but that they look so disconnected from each other is a genuine worry.
The only way Liverpool will get out of their rut next season is by pulling together and finding some of the team spirit which made Jurgen Klopp’s teams so special. Without that, they are just a group of individuals all wearing the same shirt.
It has often felt like that this season, but Sunday was perhaps the first real glimpse behind the scenes that this Liverpool team are not really a team at all. Big wins in big games are supposed to help foster a connectedness between players, but if it just leads to apathy, then maybe there are bigger problems than anybody first thought.
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