Van Dijk blames Liverpool ‘mentality’ for Atletico defeat

Virgil van Dijk claims Liverpool’s “mentality” was to blame for their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Atletico Madrid.

An extra time brace from Marcos Llorente, followed by Álvaro Morata’s late strike, secured Atletico’s path into the quarter-finals and Liverpool’s exit.

Virgil van Dijk shared his views on Liverpool’s Champions League elimination with Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, via Sport Witness.

“Of course, we are disappointed because we have been eliminated. Based on the first 95 minutes, we deserved to continue,” the defender said.

“Then they score the goal they need. That is a heavy blow. But it happens. We have to move on.

“We were dominant, created many opportunities. Oblak was great, of course. But you also have to be able to deal with that.

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“We prepared very well, analysed Atlético, watched their matches. We also looked at the things that were wrong from the first leg. Ultimately it is about the match and the mentality that you put in the match. That had to be much better.”

An errant pass from backup goalkeeper led to Llorente’s first goal, but Van Dijk refused to blame the Spaniard.

He added: “We lose together, we win together. Such things simply happen.

“I think it was a fantastic match to watch. Very intense, everything happened.

“You want to stay in the Champions League. Nobody wants to lose, but there are also things in life that are much more important. Losing is ultimately just losing. Whether I am referring to the Coronavirus? Yes. I hope they get it under control soon. I have no influence on that.”

The Reds have now won just two of their last six games, including an FA Cup exit at the hands of Chelsea and a Premier League defeat to Watford.

But Van Dijk insists people have short memories, after Liverpool have been superb for the vast majority of the season.

He said: “People forget what’s going on here all season. They only watch the last matches. Then you don’t win once and it would be another bad season. Anyway, that’s the reality.

“We are also not satisfied with the results of the past weeks. But we played an excellent game against Atlético.

“If you are 25 points ahead of Manchester City, you can never speak of a bad season. But there are enough things to improve next year.”

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