Van Dijk led the all-player encounter in Liverpool after a run of four consecutive defeats

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk revealed he led a players’ meeting at the start of the week after a run of four consecutive defeats.

Van Dijk said “everyone was sad” after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League, which came after defeats to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea before the international break.

So after a debriefing with manager Arne Slot, Liverpool’s players converged on the training pitch on Monday and centre-back Van Dijk delivered a message to his teammates.

Van Dijk explained that it was «not a crisis meeting» and said: «I wanted to say a few things. It’s not something I do after every match. After my meeting everyone was happy.»

Liverpool responded on Wednesday by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in the Champions League, avoiding a 72-year-old club record for consecutive losses.

“We had to stay calm and block out all the noise from outside, because you have no control over that,” said Van Dijk.

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«The only way out of a situation like that is to stick together, keep your mind on the task at hand, try to improve, keep the faith, embrace the moment. These are all things that are easier to say than actually do them, but if you want to get out of it, you have to do it.»

Liverpool have fallen to fourth in the Premier League after eight games, four points behind leaders Arsenal, heading into a match against Brentford on Saturday.

Published on October 23, 2025