LONDON: Virgil Van Dijk apologised to Liverpool fans after admitting his side gave up during their FA Cup quarter-final defeat against Manchester City.
Arne Slot’s team slumped to a dismal 4-0 loss at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, leaving Van Dijk furious with their second-half display.
Already trailing 2-0 at half-time after Erling Haaland’s brace, Liverpool conceded again immediately following the restart as Antoine Semenyo netted before Haaland completed his hat-trick.
Liverpool’s limp surrender sparked a mass exodus of their 8,000 fans well before the final whistle.
Van Dijk acknowledged he was culpable after conceding a penalty that Haaland converted in the first half and the Reds captain said his team-mates must also accept the blame.
“I can only apologise to the fans for what we have shown, especially the second half,” he said.
“Obviously you come out with the right intentions from the dressing room, to hopefully score for 2-1 as soon as possible to change the game.
“The opposite happens and to come back from 3-0 is obviously very difficult here — but also you shouldn’t give up and that’s maybe, at a certain point, what happened.
“We let our fans down, we let ourselves down, and the manager. The way we played in the second half, especially, must hurt for everyone. It definitely hurts me. – AFP
