Virgil van Dijk, the captain of Liverpool, acknowledges that his team does not deserve to win the Premier League given the unsatisfactory manner in which the players let the season end.
They were chasing an extraordinary but improbable quadruple just over a month ago, but their Premier League title dreams were in ruins a week after they were forced to leave Europe after losing 2-0 at Everton in the 244th Merseyside derby.
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Van Dijk criticized the general lack of desire to turn the tide at Goodison Park, as the team that was already third favorites in the championship race is likely to finish with just the Carabao Cup.
In His Worlds?
“Games likes these, the bare minimum is fight. We were lacking that at so many moments in games,” said the Netherlands captain.
“If you play like we did, obviously even if we create two or three clear-cut chances again, you don’t deserve to win the league.
“It’s crunch time and we’ve not been good enough in the way we finished the chances off, in the way we defended together and also the fight. I think we have to show much more.
“But we have to look in the mirror and each and every one of us has to think like… ‘Listen, you can’t accept this. You can’t accept the way we let our season end’.”
“Obviously it’s a mix of everything. You can’t put a finger on it,” added Van Dijk.
“It’s confidence, inexperience, challenges, maybe afraid to make mistakes in this part of the season. I don’t know.
“It’s a mix but it brings us to the situation where we can’t accept this.
“We have to stick together. We can’t have groups blaming each other because that’s not how it works. It’s a team thing and I don’t blame anyone.
“I blame us as a team, as a group. Everyone has to look in the mirror. We can’t let the season end like this.”
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