Virgil van Dijk makes ‘mentality’ claim after Liverpool handed title reminder

Liverpool suffered a setback in their bid to win the Premier League after a shock defeat to Fulham – only their second loss of the season – but Virgil van Dijk insists the team are not concerned amid fears of a slip-up

Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool‘s “mentality” will never allow them to become complacent in the title race. Liverpool remained 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League even after they lost their 26 game unbeaten run with defeat at Fulham.

It would take a miracle for Arsenal to catch Liverpool with just seven games left but van Dijk says the whole dressing room will be determined not to let the slip become anything more. The Reds face West Ham at Anfield next Sunday and van Dijk says Liverpool will be fully focused on a big reaction to get them back on track.

Liverpool captain van Dijk said: “We have to make it work and we will. We will be training quite a lot and we are in a very good position but games like Fulham, especially in the first half, show the job is not done and I’ve been saying it every week.

“That’s definitely the mentality in our group that the job is not done and now we just have to recover from this, physically and mentally, and put our minds on West Ham at home.

READ MORE: Liverpool fail to beat Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Premier League record after Fulham lossREAD MORE: Arne Slot rejects reason for Liverpool loss after recent Jamie Carragher concerns

“We all know that as players, I’ve mentioned it every week to but what is important is that there’s seven games left and on to West Ham next Sunday. We have to go all in at home, as a team, as players with the fans and to get the three points. We know how tough the Premier League is, we know we have to keep going and keep fighting and work our socks off.”

The common theory has been that Liverpool have had a dip in performances since their Champions League exit to Paris Saint Germain and then the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle.

Mo Salah has gone seven games without scoring a goal from open play and they shipped three goals after bad mistakes at Fulham. But van Dijk refused to accept they have had a drop in form, pointing out that they beat Everton last time out.

When asked if they had lost momentum, van Dijk said: “But we won the last game, didn’t we? Listen I can’t really put an answer to that. We’re trying and there are moments in games where we are outstanding but if we are not fully at our best then you can get punished and that’s what happened at Fulham.

“We can speak about the tactics as well but it was down to us being sloppy and letting them score three goals. It was not acceptable as a team.

“It was a poor day at the office for all of us. I think they were individual moments that should have been dealt with better. In games, these moments can happen but if you let them back in, they obviously scored three goals and we were on the back foot. Unfortunately the full back did well against Mo, unfortunately for us, and that’s part of the game and you have to deal with it.

“No-one can ever be perfect and we were sloppy and today we got punished quickly and like I said then it’s a difficult battle to play. We still had the belief, still had opportunities but, based on the first half, you can’t argue with the result. If it was a structural issue, I don’t think we’d be in the position we are right now.”

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