Liverpool must improve ahead Chelsea clash, says Van Dijk

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says he and his team-mates need to “look in the mirror and improve” after the 1-0 loss to Leicester dealt a blow to their Premier League title prospects.

Leaders Manchester City can extend their advantage to nine points later on Wednesday if they beat Brentford.

Chelsea could leapfrog Liverpool into second too if they overcome Brighton also on Wednesday  though the Reds will have a game in hand over both.

Van Dijk did not look for excuses for the loss on Tuesday despite Leicester’s goal scored by Ademola Lookman coming from their only shot on target after Mohamed Salah missed a first-half penalty for Liverpool.

Liverpool  who failed to score for the first time in 29 league matches  will look to strike back in the title race at Chelsea on Sunday.

However, Van Dijk says the players need to reflect on why they under-performed against a Leicester side who were beaten 6-3 by Manchester City at the weekend.

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“Everyone has to look in the mirror and improve,” the Dutch defender told Amazon Prime.

However, Van Dijk said it was no time to give up hope as other factors may still play a role in who is crowned champion. “We’re in December. The season is so, so long,” he said.“You have seen it with Covid and injuries — lots of things can change.

“There’s no point looking at (Manchester) City or Chelsea or the other teams around us. We should look at our performance today and improve.”