Van Dijk: “It Is Frustrating To Drop Points”

Liverpool went into last night’s matchup with Tottenham at Anfield knowing it would be their toughest remaining test on the road to hopefully securing their second Premier League title in three years and keeping the quadruple dream alive. Spurs took the lead in the second half, and the Reds were able to equalize, but they couldn’t find a winner.

While the rescued draw was crucial in keeping the title hopes alive... dented, but alive, it wasn’t much consolation for Virgil van Dijk.

“It doesn’t feel like [a point rescued] at all,” the center-back admitted in his post-match interview with BT Sport.

“Obviously we knew their game plan, we knew the quality they have, especially on the break. I think on the ball we were just not good enough. We lost the ball in difficult situations and if you lose the ball in those situations you’re not well organized, so they can do what they are good at.”

While Liverpool controlled the ball and had numerous corner kicks and free kicks from dangerous areas, Spurs were able to blunt the attack and prevent any big, clear-cut chances. They were then very dangerous attacking the other way on counter-attacks, and they scored a brilliant goal where their quick passing pulled Liverpool’s defending into a disorganized mess.

“Every break on attacking corners was quite dangerous as well,” admitted van Dijk. “In the end, it’s frustrating. It is frustrating to drop points, but we have to recover and play the remaining games. We have quite exciting games still coming up and we have to turn disappointment now into focus on Villa.”

“That’s the quality they have, you have to be organized well, you have to be ready to run back. I think we lost the ball when we tried to force it a little bit in danger areas where they can break on us.

“Obviously you have to give them credit, they created good chances as well, on the break especially. We were looking for the equalizer and we got it. But we were looking for the winner as well and, unfortunately, we couldn’t win today.”

While the frustration and disappointment from the Dutchman were palpable, he did add a little bit of perspective. He pointed out that the setback doesn’t take away from what has been a remarkable season, and expressed the importance of quickly shifting the focus to the next match.

“We’re disappointed that we dropped points here but so far we are having quite a good season. We are all human beings and there is a reason that we feel this way when we drop points, especially with the wins that we had lately in a row. But it is what it is and now we have to recover and focus on Villa.”