Virgil van Dijk said Arne Slot was ‘responsible’ for Liverpool’s FA Cup humiliation by Manchester City, but acknowledged that his team-mates must also take accountability for their performance.
The Reds exited the FA Cup in damning fashion on Saturday after Erling Haaland’s penalty and Antoine Semenyo’s strike saw them beaten 4-0.
The performance was dubbed one of the worst of Slot’s Liverpool tenure and brought him in for yet more criticism amid a hugely frustrating campaign, where injuries have prevented the Reds from defending their Premier League title and seen them struggling in European and domestic cups.
Speaking at full-time, though, Van Dijk refused to point the finger solely at Slot.
“Well, it’s a together thing, isn’t it?” the Liverpool captain said, asked whether players were to blame for the club’s struggles. “Obviously, he’s responsible as the manager, but we are the ones on the pitch that have to do it.”
He continued, suggesting some of his team-mates ‘gave up’ after going three goals behind.
Liverpool went into half-time trailing 2-0, but Van Dijk was not impressed with their second-half showing.
“Obviously you come out of the dressing room with the right intentions to score and make it 2-1 and change the game, but the opposite happened and then to come back from 3-0 is obviously very difficult here.
“But also you shouldn’t give up, and that’s maybe what happened at a certain point.
He committed to finishing the campaign on a high: “We have a responsibility, not only to ourselves but especially to the fans and, if we want to make something out of this season, we have to try and do something special in the next three games.”
Liverpool return to action on Wednesday, visiting European champions Paris Saint-Germain.
