Virgil van Dijk takes dig at critics after Liverpool beat Ajax

Speaking to BT Sport after the Ajax game (h/t Metro), Virgil van Dijk didn’t hesitate to call out ex-players who commented on Liverpool after their 4-1 thumping at the hands of Napoli and said these pundits tried to “get us down.”

Liverpool’s performance recently led to a lot of former footballers and “pundits” calling the team out. Generally making a few over-the-top statements like gaffer Jurgen Klopp’s time at Liverpool is over probably gave rise to van Dijk speaking up.

The 30-year-old Dutchman made it clear that “not listening to the outside world” is extremely crucial. Van Dijk believes that there is no need for Liverpool to listen to criticism from former players who should know better than to make such statements.

‘‘It’s funny sometimes because there’s a lot of ex-football players and they know exactly what we go through but they say a lot of things to try and get us down.”

Prior to the 2-1 win at Ajax, Liverpool was under a lot of dissection over their poor defensive shape in the current season. Losing 4-1 in a fixture wherein the Reds expected to come out victorious added fuel to the fire.

Even though he believes Napoli was a “horror show”, the club knows it was unacceptable and has made efforts to “make it right”. The Reds are now in a better place in Group A because no wins in the first two games would have made qualification a tough ask, especially given Napoli’s form and Ajax’s big win against Rangers.

A late Joel Matip header sealed the three points on the night for the Reds, but given the way Liverpool played throughout the game, they should’ve finished the game much earlier.

Good performances from Kostas Tsimikas and Thiago Alcantara on their return to the side was the major highlight of the game. Trent Alexander-Arnold had a good day as well. Van Dijk was good but given his standards, we could have seen him play better.

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This was a well-timed win for the Reds heading into the international break. Liverpool will be out of action for a prolonged period and a well-deserved break for the Reds in getting a good win amidst a string of average performances.