Virgil van Dijk explains Liverpool disappointment after Man City - 'I keep saying it'

Liverpool dropped points from a winning position once again this weekend, with Dominik Szoboszlai's superb free-kick against Man City ultimately counting for nothing

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk.(Image: Steven Halliwell/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Virgil van Dijk was left "disappointed" that Liverpool failed to hold on against Manchester City this weekend, admitting that the Reds didn't perform in the first half, which proved costly.

Despite going a goal ahead through Dominik Szoboszlai with around 15 minutes to play, things quickly unraveled near the end. Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland scored before the Hungarian captain was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity, further compounding the Anfield side's misery.

With Liverpool's inconsistency this season evident, this was the latest example within one game, with the first half seeing Manchester City on top and the Reds leveling things out in the second half.

"It's always difficult to accept a loss, especially at home," Van Dijk told reporters. "If you really analyze the game as a whole, 95 minutes, City was much better than us in having the ball. They created some opportunities, but not massive.

"Second half, we did much better and created opportunities but the penalty is the deciding factor. At the moment, I'm disappointed that we lost.

"We were trying to be more direct, with much more long balls, winning if not the first ball then the second, and go from there. They tried to shut off our left side and Haaland was constantly with me.

Referee Craig Pawson speaks with players as Ruben Dias, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker during a contentious moment in Liverpool's late 2-1 home loss to Manchester City(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

"We weren't good enough in that sense. When we had the ball, we couldn't get that much pressure that we wanted. That's why they controlled the first half as they did.

"Second half, we turned it around a little bit and got more control. We made better decisions and made more challenges.

"I don't know [if we dropped too deep after going ahead]. You also have to remember that you play against City, who is very comfortable on the ball. At times, when you don't win the ball, and we did many times as well, the decisions could have been better.

"It is easy now to say we maybe dropped off too much and that is why they scored the equalizer. Overall, the feeling I have right now is that the first half, we weren't good enough. The second, we were much better, and we're disappointed that we lost."

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

This game represented the sixth in the Premier League this season in which Liverpool has conceded in stoppage time. In total, it is eight points dropped in that period.

"You can't compare all the [late] goals," Van Dijk said. "There are two in my mind that you can compare, and that is the Crystal Palace goal and the Bournemouth goal. This one, I don't think you can compare with the others, but the fact is that we conceded late on.

"I keep saying it, but we have to do better. Like I said, we had much more control [in the second half] and when we had the ball, we made the right decisions.

"When we lost the ball, we put them under a lot more pressure and they kicked a lot more long balls because we were having more pressure. We could win the first ball but not as much the second ball, but that was definitely a much better feeling that I had."

While things have slowly been heading in the right direction for Liverpool in recent weeks, time is running out to overhaul at least one of Manchester United or Chelsea.

As things stand, with 13 games left to play this season, Liverpool is four points off the Champions League spots, assuming that the Premier League gets five positions once again.

"Every game that is coming our way, we have to make sure we are getting towards the top four or top five," Van Dijk said.

"But we need better performances. Finding ways to win, that is something that we can focus on and we have to keep on focusing on as well."