Virgil van Dijk disagrees with Arne Slot as Liverpool boss fumes after Man City defeat

Virgil van Dijk and Arne Slot saw things differently after Liverpool's defeat to Manchester City, with the Reds' boss having left fuming with one of the referee's decisions in particular

Virgil van Dijk insisted Liverpool only had itself to blame after defeat to Manchester City(Image: Sky Sports)

Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool only has itself to blame for its defeat to Manchester City, despite Arne Slot aiming his ire at the referee.

The Reds fell to a damaging 2-1 defeat at Anfield in a game that ended in chaotic fashion. Dominik Szoboszlai had given the hosts the lead with a spectacular free-kick, only to be sent off late on as City was denied a third goal, having taken the lead through Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland.

The decision to disallow the goal and send Szoboszlai off has caused controversy, with even Haaland and Pep Guardiola insisting VAR shouldn’t have intervened. That wasn’t the only moment to cause a stir though.

Liverpool was left raging when Marc Guehi was only shown a yellow card despite pulling Mohamed Salah back as the Egyptian looked to run through on goal. In a game full of talking points, that was the moment that angered Slot the most.

"We can talk about the decisions," Slot said on Sky Sports. "I would like to talk about the one time Mo was through on goal and Guehi holds his shirt.

"Everyone who has been in this stadium in the last eight years knows if Mo is in that position, it is a goal. So it is a denial of a goalscoring opportunity."

Arne Slot felt Marc Guehi should have been sent off for pulling Mohamed Salah back(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Van Dijk though took a different view on the game to his head coach, with the Liverpool captain refusing to pin any blame on referee Craig Pawson or the other officials.

"We have no influence on that,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports. “[Matheus] Nunes' penalty, he could have given it, he went so fast. We only have ourselves to blame.

"We have to quickly turn our attention to Sunderland because that will be a tough one, unbeaten at home this season. A good challenge ahead."

Liverpool does indeed head to Sunderland on Wednesday, but the Reds will be hoping for a couple of favors elsewhere after losing more ground in the race for the Premier League’s top four.

Manchester United lies five points ahead after beating Tottenham on Saturday, while Chelsea sits four points above the Reds, having beaten Wolves.

Asked whether he feels his side made progress despite the result against City, Van Dijk responded: "I'm not sure. It's still a process.

“The second half maybe felt like a step up but first half we were not in control and should have done better. Unfortunately, the penalty moment was the deciding moment and that is the reality."