Virgil van Dijk offered a brutally honest assessment of Liverpool’s Champions League exit, admitting the Reds simply didn’t do enough to overcome Paris Saint-Germain.
The captain confessed he is “not in a good place” after the 2-0 second-leg defeat at Anfield saw the Premier League side dumped out of Europe.
Van Dijk accepts ‘deserved’ European exit
The Liverpool captain did not hide his frustration after seeing his side’s European dreams slip away at Anfield.
Despite a more spirited performance than the first leg in Paris, a 2-0 defeat on the night confirmed a 4-0 aggregate loss to Luis Enrique’s men.
Ousmane Dembele proved to be the difference-maker, netting twice to punish a Liverpool side that lacked a clinical edge in the final third.
Reflecting on the performance, Van Dijk was honest about the gap between the two sides over the 180 minutes.
“That’s the bare minimum, isn’t it?” Van Dijk said when asked about the team’s effort.
“It’s disappointing to be knocked out but PSG deserved to go through. Knocking on the door is not enough. I’m disappointed that we were knocked out, but that is the reality. I think PSG deserved to go through based on the two games.”
Slot’s ‘survival mode’ falls short
Liverpool’s exit felt somewhat inevitable following a tactical collapse in the first leg at the Parc des Princes, with Slot later describing that performance as being in “survival mode”. While the Reds improved at home, they were still unable to bridge the quality gap.
Despite registering many attempts on goal, poor finishing and a controversial overturned penalty meant they never truly threatened PSG’s aggregate lead.
The exit means Liverpool’s hunt for silverware this season is over, leaving the squad in a somber mood.
Van Dijk admits he is finding the loss difficult to process ahead of this weekend’s derby clash with Everton.
“We should be very disappointed at this stage,” he said. “But a massive game awaits for us. We all know how big it is. It will obviously be a tough one but it is something to look forward to. But at this stage, I’m just not in a good place because we got knocked out of the Champions League.”
Devastating injury blow for Ekitike
To make matters worse for Liverpool, the night was marred by a serious injury to star forward Hugo Ekitike.
The 23-year-old, who has been a revelation since his summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt, was forced off on a stretcher during the first half after collapsing in a non-contact incident.
Reports have since circulated that the striker has ruptured an Achilles tendon, an injury that would rule him out for around nine months.
The timing is particularly cruel for the Frenchman, who reached 17 goals for the season before the setback. Slot cut a concerned figure after the final whistle, admitting the situation looked bleak for his leading man.
“I think we could all see that it didn’t look well and didn’t look good. Let’s wait and see what it will be. But we could all see it didn’t look good,” the Reds boss said.
Merseyside derby looms as must-win
With Champions League qualification for next season still hanging in the balance ahead of their trip to Everton, Ryan Gravenberch insisted the team must find a way to redirect their focus.
“Is it acceptable to be eliminated this way? No, actually not,” the midfielder told Ziggo Sport. “It’s disappointing. We have to pick ourselves up as Sunday is waiting.”
The race for the top four remains the priority, and the Reds cannot afford another slip in the Premier League.
With Ekitike sidelined and the European campaign over, Slot must now find a way to galvanize his troops for a final domestic push.
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