For the first time in six decades, Liverpool has suffered consecutive defeats in league games by three goals. Alexander Isak is the first Liverpool player to lose on each of his first four Premier League starts for the club. And Virgil van Dijk had his own damning verdict, even if it drew less on statistics and more on a broader sense of their malaise. “At the moment, it is a mess,” said the Liverpool captain. “That’s just a fact.”
Others might call it a crisis, but Van Dijk’s chosen description was revealing enough. Still more so was his analysis of his side’s shortcomings after a run of six defeats in even league games. The Dutchman can excel in downplaying things, whatever the result. He speaks a lot, but he is not always outspoken. He was this time. The most laidback of defenders said: “You should be angry”.
