Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool are ‘not going to give up’ on retaining the title and says they are ‘ready’ for a ‘big fight’ with Arsenal and Manchester City for the Premier League trophy.
Liverpool’s hopes of retaining the title were dealt a further blow as they suffered a humbling 3-0 defeat to Man City on Sunday.
Arne Slot’s side enjoyed two wins before their trip to the Etihad Stadium but that momentum was nowhere to be seen as they were well-beaten in Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th game as a manager.
Erling Haaland continued his sensational form with Man City’s opener – shortly after the disappointment of having a penalty saved by Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Liverpool thought they had equalised before half-time but Van Dijk’s header was ruled out as Andy Robertson was in an offside position and adjudged to be impacting play.
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Slot was furious with the decision and his mood only got worse when Nico Gonzalez doubled Man City’s lead with a long-range strike on the stroke of half-time.
Liverpool improved marginally after the break but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Jeremy Doku capped a superb performance with a superb third.
While Manchester City climb back up to second in the Premier League – four points behind Arsenal – Liverpool are just eighth going into the international break, eight points adrift of the top.
Arsenal have been the standout team in England this season but dropped two points against Sunderland on Saturday.
Speaking after Liverpool’s fifth defeat in 11 league games, Anfield captain Van Dijk said: ‘It’s about finding consistency and carrying on. Now we go to our countries, stay fit and be ready for a big run after.
‘We are not going to give up whatsoever. We are in November and we are ready for a long season and a big fight.
‘The first half was difficult and they were much more comfortable on the ball and it was difficult for our guys to put pressure on them.
‘I don’t think there was a lot of danger, but Doku had a good game and it was difficult for Conor [Bradley] in the one on one at times. I don’t think we were much in trouble but we could have done better.
‘We had to dig deep in the second half. We got more momentum in possession but out pressing wasn’t good enough.’
Van Dijk was reluctant to comment on Liverpool’s controversial disallowed goal at the Etihad Stadium and said it was up to pundits to ‘debate’ the decision.
‘In football the officials are deciding the key decisions and we have to deal with it on the pitch,’ Van Dijk said. ‘There is no point discussing this from my point of view.
‘The reality is that we lost 3-0 and that is a big blow. It doesn’t matter what I say [about the goal] because anything I say will be in the media and the whole international break will be about my comment on the decision.
‘I just focus on the fact we lost. You guys can debate if it should have stood.’
Premier League leaders Arsenal were last crowned champions of England in 2004. Mikel Arteta’s side have finished as runners-up for the past three seasons.
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