Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk questions whether teammates want to win Premier League following Everton defeat

25/04/2024 00:25

Virgil van Dijk has told his Liverpool teammates to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they want to be Premier League champions.

The Reds suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Everton on Wednesday – their first Merseyside derby loss at Goodison Park in 2010.

Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored in either half for the Toffees, who have seriously dented Jurgen Klopp‘s farewell tour.

The result leaves Liverpool trailing leaders Arsenal by three points with four games to play.

Meanwhile, the Reds will be leapfrogged by Manchester City should Pep Guardiola’s men pick up at least a point at Brighton on Thursday night, live on talkSPORT.

And club captain Van Dijk has questioned whether his teammates even want to win the top-flight title after they were outfought by their city rivals.

Speaking to Sky Sports following the disappointing defeat, Van Dijk said: “I’m very disappointed in so many ways.

“I think everyone has to look in the mirror and look at their own performances [to see] if they’ve really given everything, and do they really want to win the league?

“Obviously we’re fighting and we still have games left after tonight.

“But if we play like we did in the game today – not winning challenges and giving the ref [Andy Madley] an opportunity to give a free-kick like he did many times – then we have no chance to win the title.

“It’s a tough one, obviously we have to do much better against a side that’s [fighting] relegation.

“Now it’s time to focus on a 12.30pm kick-off again [vs West Ham at London Stadium on Saturday].”

Commenting on the Reds running out of ideas in the second half, Van Dijk remarked: “Yeah, I think you try to force things.

“And we gave too many crosses where they can clear it quite easily, I still think in the first half we had clear-cut chances that we should have scored.

“But we weren’t good enough, and it starts with the fight. And like I said, we all have to do much better.

“We can’t let this season go out like tonight – and the first half against Crystal Palace especially was very disappointing.

“We have to do much better in every sense, it’s a tough one tonight.”

Liverpool were five points clear in the table at the start of 2024 and looked to be on course for a historic quadruple after winning the Carabao Cup.

But they suffered quarter-final exits in both the FA Cup and Europa League, with the odds now stacked against them to win a second Premier League title.