"We are not happy" - Jurgen Klopp comments on mistakes by Virgil van Dijk and Alisson in Liverpool's 3-1 loss at Arsenal
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has backed club stars Virgil van Dijk and Alisson to bounce back after their errors in the 3-1 league defeat against Arsenal. He said the mistakes only showed the duo were also human.
Speaking to the media after the match, Klopp admitted that defensive errors cost Liverpool the match against Arsenal. He believed that the whole side were not good enough, not just the defensive duo who made errors leading to goals. He said (via Daily Mail):
"Our two main guys had a misunderstanding (for the second goal). They are human beings. That makes what they usually do even more special. Could we have defended the first goal better, yes 100 percent. But that's how it is. For today we are not happy, they are not happy. But that's it now, we don't have to make more of the game. We played against Arsenal, you can play super here and still lose. We take it, deal with it and go from there. But we did not play enough football. We were not involved in the game enough. In general, we can admit that Arsenal deserves the three points."
Liverpool's loss saw their lead on top of the Premier League table cut down to two points. However, Manchester City can overtake them by a point if they win their two matches in hand.
Virgil van Dijk admits Liverpool loss was his mistake
Virgil van Dijk has admitted that his mistakes cost Liverpool the game. He wants to put the Arsenal loss behind him and think about the rest of the season.
He said (via 90MIN):
"That is a big moment in the game. I should have made a better decision -- it hurts for me. The turning point is my responsibility, I should try to clear it. Obviously these things don't happen too often in my career, but I will recover from this. It is a physical game and I am not looking for excuses. At the highest level it is a split decision. Alisson touched me a little bit and he couldn't clear it, but I take full responsibility for this and I will try to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Van Dijk is in the final 18 months of his contract at Liverpool and his future beyond that is still unclear.