Virgil van Dijk reveals the big ‘frustration’ behind Liverpool’s season

Virgil van Dijk has revealed the frustration in the Liverpool dressing room at their inconsistency this season.

Liverpool produced one of their best performances of the campaign to have 32 shots as they beat Galatasaray 4-0 and advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League .

They have also beaten Real and Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Arsenal so far, but they have lost to bottom club Wolves and drew on Sunday with out-of-form Tottenham.

And Van Dijk said: “I think occasionally we have been showing and playing good games but not consistently and on a regular basis and it’s been frustrating for all of us and for the fans as well.”

Supporters had booed at the end of the Spurs game but there was a raucous atmosphere at Anfield on Tuesday for Galatasaray’s visit.

Whereas teammate Dominik Szoboszlai had questioned the supporters who left early on Sunday, Van Dijk refused to criticise them as he understood their disappointment at times this year.

“In all these years at Liverpool I’ve never ever questioned them and I still don’t,” he added. “There is a reason why there is frustration this season because we had an amazing season last year; we became champions, we had consistent, good football, finding ways to win, and this season we have had so many ups and downs dealing with difficult moments and there has been frustration because we want to perform every three or four days as well.”

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Van Dijk felt the players and supporters both fed off each other in their energetic display against Galatasaray.

“It’s a combination of performance and the fans, they play a big part in that,” he explained. “The fans can probably say if we bring that every week on the pitch then there is no issue and we can say if the fans bring that every three or four days then there is no issue either. It is about doing it together. This season as players we take full responsibility for a lot of performances when we have not been good enough.”

Liverpool are now in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2022 and Van Dijk added: “Someone told me for me personally it is my fifth time in eight years so it’s not a given. It was a good night. We shouldn’t take this team for granted and we are not going to do that either. It is onto the next, build on this, build on the next performances. We have been having good performances this season and we haven’t been able to build on it the next time.”