Chelsea vs Liverpool: Van Dijk's blunt message to teammates after Stamford Bridge disappointment

Virgil van Dijk did not hide his frustration following Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Chelsea, making his disappointment clear regarding the team’s performance.

Goals from Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer, along with a Jarell Quansah own goal, condemned the Reds to their third league defeat of the season.

Despite the Dutchman halving the deficit, the result seemed inevitable from the moment Chelsea opened the scoring. 

Liverpool appeared to be suffering a dip in performance following their title celebrations the previous weekend.

Van Dijk reiterated to his teammates the significance of maintaining their standards, highlighting the consequences of a drop in level. 

The captain noted that while their possession was decent, their pressing when not in possession was not effective, allowing Chelsea to find spaces between the lines.

"I think possession was quite good, but when we didn't have the ball the pressing wasn't great and they could find between the lines,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports (via Liverpool.com).

“To concede that early is not great, but if we start to play the way we want to play then we can create chances. 

There were chances for us to score - in the end they deserve the win. That's the disappointing thing as we came here to win.

"Obviously we tried, but it wasn't great. The way we trained, the sharpness that we had, everyone was ready for it.

"We know it was going to be tough at times. We could have done better in the way we defended as a team, but we will analyse it tomorrow and prepare for the next game."

Arne Slot’s team welcome Arsenal in their next Premier League contest on Sunday, May 11.