Virgil van Dijk said Liverpool’s players would tell each other some hard truths in an inquest into their 4-1 defeat at Manchester City.
The defender said he was frustrated by Liverpool’s second-half showing after they took the lead at the Etihad Stadium but conceded twice in the first nine minutes after the break.
It meant Liverpool have suffered three consecutive defeats since beating Manchester United 7-0, and before they face crunch games against Chelsea and Arsenal later this week.
“Tough afternoon, definitely,” said Van Dijk. “Very frustrated. That’s the feeling. The second half at 2-1 was a big blow.
“We’re going to have a meeting together. If you’re losing the way we lost today, then definitely there will be some hard talking. That’s really normal, we’re grown men and we’ll see. The turnaround is quite quick with Chelsea on Tuesday so [Sunday] is a big day.”
Manager Jurgen Klopp also felt the meeting on Sunday would be crucial after deciding not to have a debrief immediately after the City game.
“I told the boys there is nothing to say for tonight, everything is obvious and then tomorrow we have to talk about it,” he said on Saturday.
Klopp sounded subdued but insisted he would be able to lift his team, adding: “You don’t have to worry about me, I watch things, I analyse things and then I go ahead. My emotions were never the problem. I know what I have to do but I have to make sure it arrives in the right places.”
