'Painful' - Van Dijk's verdict on defeat against PSG
Virgil van Dijk admitted he and Liverpool have to learn lessons from a 'painful' defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
The Reds’ hopes of reaching the tournament’s knockout stages were dealt a blow as goals by Juan Bernat and Neymar rendered James Milner’s penalty mere consolation at the Parc des Princes.
Van Dijk and co must now beat Group C leaders Napoli either 1-0 or by two clear goals on December 11 to be sure of a place in the last 16.
Read the centre-back’s verdict on a frustrating night in France below…
On the disappointment with the result…
We came here to win. After our second half, we came back better, put them under pressure and we had opportunities. Obviously they had their moments as well on the break. The first half wasn’t good enough and then you’re going to lose this game.
On Liverpool’s improvement in the second half…
You need to be lucky at times. But in the end it was a frustrating game. There are certain moments where you need to keep your head cool. It was difficult. There were good things in the second half but to lose it tonight is painful.
On the manner of the goals conceded…
Yes, definitely [I’m disappointed with them]. The one I tried to clear, the ball came behind me a little bit and they picked up the second ball. It should have been better there but everyone sometimes makes mistakes. I need to learn from that. The second one was on the break – that’s what they’re good at. We need to do better. You make it difficult for yourself if you’re 2-0 down, especially after 30 minutes or so. We bounced back in the second half, we did well. We had the belief as well. Now the point is to recover from this and make sure everyone is ready for the weekend.
On the big night to come against Napoli…
Yes, that’s the only thing that’s left. We need to be up for it and we will be. We need everyone for that and I’m not in doubt that’s going to happen. Everyone is going to be ready for it. Until then, we need to be ready for the league as well and win our games.