Virgil Van Dijk apologized to Liverpool fans after admitting his side had given up in their FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Manchester City.
Arne Slot’s side slumped to a dismal 4-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, leaving Van Dijk furious with the side’s performance in the second half.
Liverpool were already 2-0 down at half-time after Erling Haaland’s brace and suffered another setback immediately after the restart when Antoine Semenyo scored before Haaland completed his hat-trick.
Liverpool’s weak surrender led to a mass exodus of 8,000 fans well before the final whistle.
Van Dijk admitted his guilt after conceding a penalty which Haaland converted in the first half and the Reds captain said his teammates also had to accept the blame.
«I can only apologize to the fans for what we showed, especially in the second half,» he said.
“You obviously come out of the dressing room with the right intentions, to hopefully score the 2-1 as quickly as possible to change the game.
“The opposite happens and coming back from 3-0 is obviously very difficult here, but you also shouldn’t give up and that may be what happened at some point.
«We let our fans down, we let ourselves down and the manager down. Especially the way we played in the second half has to hurt for everyone. It certainly hurts me.»
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool to continue Man City’s push for silverware. | Photo credit: Reuters
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool to continue Man City’s push for silverware. | Photo credit: Reuters
The dismal result increased the pressure on Slot ahead of the tough Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain in France on Wednesday.
With City’s hopes of domestic success dashed, Liverpool must focus on winning the Champions League and qualifying for next season’s tournament.
Van Dijk urged his side to remain united as the pressure mounts: «It’s a joint thing, isn’t it? Obviously as a manager he is responsible, but we are the ones on the pitch who have to do it.»
«The fact is now that PSG is waiting for us. I watched them a bit on Friday. It will be so tough again. So we have to be mentally ready as quickly as possible.»
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«I’ve been lucky to play for Liverpool for so many years. The most important thing we always had was togetherness. Now we’re obviously in a bit of a transition, but we have to find it.»
Liverpool face a crucial Premier League clash with Fulham between the two games against PSG and Van Dijk wants a better effort from his team in the next three matches.
«We have a responsibility to ourselves and especially to the fans. If we want to make something of this season, we have to try to produce something special in the next three games,» he said.
«I’m trying to think about how we can turn this tide. We’ve been through this for almost 75 percent of the season.»
“It is difficult to accept and everyone has to look at themselves.”
Published on April 5, 2026
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