Van Dijk's Call for Faith After City Silence: Liverpool's Season Isn’t Over Yet

Match Reflections

The Dutch captain, Virgil van Dijk, stressed that it is hard to forget results like Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Liverpool were beaten at the Etihad Stadium, City’s home, in a top-tier clash that marked round 11 of the Premier League.

City’s three goals came from Erling Haaland (29), Nicolas Gonzalez (45+3), and Jérémy Doku (63).

Haaland also missed a penalty in the 13th minute, firing into the right corner only for Liverpool’s Giorgi Mamardashvili to save with a sharp reaction.

With the result, City moved to second on 22 points, while Liverpool sat eighth on 18.

The champions find themselves eight points behind Arsenal at the top, as the international break looms in November and the table looks tight for the moment.

Van Dijk argued that the team must not forget the 3-0 loss or the performance at the Etihad, but instead use it as a launching pad for improvement.

In quotes carried by the British Daily Mail, he said: “We mustn’t forget results like these; if you forget them, you won’t improve. We shouldn’t only think about the good things.”

He added: “We should think about the mistakes we made against City and how to fix them; we must feel this responsibility, and I certainly do. What could we have done better? We will take that into account in forthcoming matches.”

The coming fixtures will see Liverpool face teams from the lower half of the table in seven of nine league games, suggesting the Reds still have room to mount a strong season with a winning streak into the new year.

Van Dijk insisted there is no reason for gloom: “We faced strong opponents this week, we won two of three, and we must keep pushing.”

He acknowledged: “This has been a tough season for many reasons, but I’m confident we can turn things around. It won’t happen overnight; we must keep working and everyone needs to be in good physical condition to help us.”

“There’s no point looking at the table; that’s the reality. If we lose a bunch of games, we can’t just gaze at the standings. I’ve been around football long enough to know seasons aren’t decided in November or December.”

As March and April approach, he hinted, the picture will start to take shape in a more telling way.

The captain concluded: “We want to reach that level, but the road remains long and demanding. We must stay humble, keep working, and that is our only goal.”

Match statistics

After Haaland’s penalty miss, Opta’s data showed City wasting 4 of their last 5 spot-kicks against Liverpool.

The Norwegian striker became the first player to miss a penalty and still score in a Premier League game since he did so against Sheffield United in August 2023.

Since the start of the 2023-24 season, no goalkeeper in Europe’s five major leagues has saved more penalties than Mamardashvili, with 6 stops.

Haaland has reached 14 goals in 11 Premier League games this season, the second-highest tally for a player in their first 11 rounds in the competition’s history.

Remarkably, Haaland himself holds the record, reaching 17 goals in the same early-season window in 2022-23.

Skuka noted that Liverpool conceded twice in the first half for the first time in a Premier League match against City since April 2022.

City have won the last 72 games in the league when leading by two at half-time, while Liverpool have lost their last 24 when trailing by two at the break in the competition.

Bernardo Silva’s 48th assist in the Premier League brings him closer to Sergio Aguero’s record for City in the competition, with Aguero still the club’s all-time top scorer but Silva now among the most prolific creators in City’s league history.

According to Opta, Dokou became the first player since Eden Hazard (Chelsea) in April 2019 to post a 10+ duels won, 7 successful dribbles, +3 chances created, and +3 shots on target in a Premier League game.

Punchline time: If Liverpool’s defense were a Wi‑Fi signal, today’s performance would be buffering in 1080p—still not enough to stream a comeback. Punchline two: City brought the heat, Haaland missed a penalty, and Klopp’s squad are now auditioning for a dramatic mid-season reboot—spoiler: the sequel could still be good with a proper script and a few goals.