Virgil van Dijk was candid in his social media appraisal after Liverpool’s FA Cup loss against Manchester United on Sunday.
The Reds’ agonisingly painful cup match concluded in a 4-3 loss after they blew a 3-2 lead in extra time. The host team scored the game’s winning goal in the 121st minute.
Liverpool players breeze through their weight training
After the loss, the skipper took to Instagram to acknowledge that when assessing the outcome, he and his teammates can only look at themselves. He concluded with a defiant message for the final stretch before the international break.
“Only ourselves to blame, especially after how good we have been so far this season!” wrote Van Dijk on social media. When it’s time for the foreigners, we’ll return and give it our all.
With that evaluation, Liverpool’s captain is expressing the complete truth: after leading twice yesterday and dominating the second half of regular time but failing to capitalise, there is no way we should have ended up losing the FA Cup.
We all have to join hands when four goals are given up in one afternoon. It was especially frustrating when Cody Gakpo wasted a five-on-two breakaway while we were ahead 2-1. A score at that point would have probably ended the stalemate.
We’ve had a fun season so far thanks to the Reds’ winning mentality and game management, but we weren’t up to par at Old Trafford and performed below the team’s typical level.
However, as Van Dijk points out, the international break provides an opportunity to reflect, make preparations for the arduous stretch leading up to the end of May, and hope for no more injuries.
In addition to being evident in his social media statement, the captain’s elite mindset is evident on the pitch for the duration of the season, even in light of Sunday’s loss.
