The China Mail - Van Dijk apologises for Liverpool thumping by Man 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."

The dismal result intensified the pressure on Slot ahead of a daunting Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain in France on Wednesday.

With their hopes of domestic silverware dashed by City, Liverpool have to focus on winning the Champions League and qualifying for next season's tournament.

Urging his squad to stay united as the pressure mounts, Van Dijk said: "It's a together thing, isn't it? Obviously he's responsible as the manager but we are the ones on the pitch that have to do it.

"The matter of fact is now, PSG are waiting for us. I watched them Friday a little bit. It will be so tough again. So we have to be ready mentally as soon as possible.

"I've been lucky enough to play for Liverpool for so many years. The main thing we always had was togetherness. Now obviously we are in a little bit of a transition but we have to find it."

Liverpool face a crucial Premier League clash with Fulham between their two games against PSG and Van Dijk wants an improved effort from his team over the next three matches.

"We have a responsibility to ourselves and, especially, to the fans. If we want to make something out of this season, then we have to try and produce something special the next three games," he said.

"I'm trying to think how we can turn this round. We've been going through this almost 75 percent of the season.

"It's a difficult one to take and everyone has to look at themselves."

A.Zhang--ThChM