Virgil van Dijk expressed disappointment after Liverpool was eliminated from the Europa League despite winning the second leg against Atalanta.
Liverpool had a chance to turn the tables after a 0-3 loss in the first leg. In the return leg, they scored an early goal in the 7th minute thanks to Mohamed Salah’s successful penalty kick.
In the time that followed, The Kops focused their attack and had many opportunities to score more goals, however, on a day when the attack was so ungainly, Jurgen Klopp and his team could only end the match with the maximum score.
Even though Liverpool won today, it was also another defeat.
Liverpool officially stopped in the Europa League.
Interviewed with TNT Sports after the match, captain Van Dijk shared about the team’s elimination from the European Cup, and admitted they still have too much work to do.
“First, we must recognize Atalanta’s dedication,” Van Dijk shared.
“Overall, it was obviously a much better game than what we did last week, but it wasn’t enough.”
The Dutchman continued: “I think in the first half we played on top and created many chances.
“We were very disappointed to be eliminated, because what we really wanted to win was the right to progress.”
Van Dijk called on the players in the team to leave disappointment behind, when Klopp’s team needs to aim for the important goal of winning the Premier League championship.
Van Dijk sent the message that Liverpool will recover.
Liverpool must now prepare for their return to competition in the domestic league, with an immediate trip to Fulham this Sunday.
`It’s clear we won, but it doesn’t really look like it. Still, we have to recover quickly to prepare for the trip to London on Sunday.`
“We have to stand up.
Showing maturity, showing solidarity is key to this and shows the professionalism of the whole team.”
Finally, Virgil van Dijk sent an appeal to the fans, hoping they will still support the team after this defeat.
“Hopefully our fans will be there again – I really have no doubt about that.
