Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool ‘gave up’ in their FA Cup exit to Manchester City.
Saturday’s 4-0 hammering at the Etihad Stadium left Arne Slot’s side facing a battle to salvage their season with only the Champions League left to currently fight for.
The Reds shipped four goals in 18 minutes as they bowed out of the quarter-final stage ahead of travelling to reigning European holders Paris Saint-Germain.
And Van Dijk, who conceded the penalty for the hosts’ opener, apologised to the 8,000-strong support who witnessed their team’s second-half capitulation.
He said: “It’s on us. The fans were there to support us and I can only apologise to the fans for what we have shown, especially the second half. It’s difficult.
“Mentally it has been a very tough season overall.
“You come out of the dressing room with the right intentions to score and make it 2-1 and change the game, but the opposite happened and then to come back from 3-0 is obviously very difficult here.
“But also you shouldn’t give up, and that’s maybe what happened at a certain point.
“Our second half, the intensity we didn’t match, the challenges we didn’t win, it was tough. To lose then 4-0 is tough.”
The Liverpool captain also revealed that the togetherness that had been a key staple of his time with the club is currently lacking amid the ongoing slump.
““I’ve been lucky enough to play for Liverpool for so many years and the main thing always was the togetherness,” added Van Dijk.
“Now, obviously, we are in a little bit of a transition so we have to find it.
“It’s still difficult to then perform every three days if we don’t have it consistently, if you know what I mean?
“The togetherness on the pitch to show it for 90-plus minutes every three or four days, that is difficult.”