Virgil van Dijk has built a career and a reputation on not panicking. The most laidback centre-back of his generation can derive some of his considerable authority from a calm demeanour. It would be out of character if his reaction to back-to-back defeats were to panic. It wasn’t. “There shouldn’t be panic, but improvement is needed,” counselled the Liverpool skipper. Steven Gerrard famously led Liverpool to victory in Istanbul. Van Dijk did not.
A 1-0 loss to Galatasaray followed a 2-1 setback at Crystal Palace. With Chelsea on Saturday, there is the potential for the week to get worse, for Liverpool to enter territory they have not previously charted under Arne Slot by losing three in a row.
