Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk delivered a very harsh assessment of his team’s mental strength following their heavy 4–0 FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.
The disappointed captain suggested that his teammates may have stopped fighting as Erling Haaland and his colleagues completely dominated at the Etihad Stadium.
In a season already marked by inconsistency, the Reds hit a new low on Saturday afternoon as they were dismantled by their rivals.
Although Liverpool showed a decent level early on, everything changed before halftime, leading to a poor second-half performance that saw away fans leaving well before the final whistle.
Speaking after the defeat, Van Dijk was brutally honest about the lack of resistance on the pitch.
“Obviously, you come out of the dressing room with the intention to score and make it 2–1 to change the game. But the opposite happened, and coming back from 3–0 here is very difficult. However, you should never give up—and maybe that happened at some point,” the captain admitted.
The atmosphere around the club has become increasingly negative, while this season’s statistics continue to worsen.
The 4–0 defeat at the Etihad represents another low point in what has become the club’s worst season in terms of losses since 2014–15.
Many of the 8,000 away fans did not stay until the end, leaving manager Arne Slot applauding an almost empty stand after the final whistle.
Van Dijk apologized to the fans, acknowledging that the team failed to meet expectations.
“The fans were there to support us, and I can only apologize for what we showed. We let ourselves down, the manager, and our supporters. Up to the penalty, maybe not, but the way we played—especially in the second half—hurts everyone. It hurts me too,” he added.
The frustration is not limited to the captain. Midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai used even stronger words, describing the current season as “catastrophic,” as the club risks missing out on major European competitions.
“We need to stick together and react, because if we play like this, we can very quickly forget about qualifying for the Champions League—even for next season,” he warned. “We have to look at ourselves and think about how to turn this catastrophic season into one we can still remember.”
The Hungarian midfielder was also seen involved in a tense confrontation with frustrated fans after the match.
