Virgil van Dijk: 'I could sense Liverpool fans’ frustration vs Leeds'

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The Liverpool skippered admitted that the supporters' grumblings filtered onto the pitch at Anfield in the latter stages of the 0-0 draw against Leeds on New Year's Day

Virgil van Dijk admitted he could sense the frustrations of fans following the 0-0 draw against Leeds

Virgil van Dijk admitted he could sense the frustration of Liverpool supporters after the 0-0 draw against Leeds United on New Year’s Day.

The Reds failed to turn their domination into three points against the relegation-threatened side, with Arne Slot’s team registering two-thirds of possession and limiting Leeds to two tentative first-half shots on target.

However, the opposition flooded the middle of the pitch, making it difficult for Liverpool to create clear-cut chances at Anfield. That was underlined by the Reds producing just one shot on target in the second period, which came via Dominik Szoboszlai’s powerful effort from distance.

Liverpool tended to move the ball slowly, looking for openings that simply didn’t materialize. There were a few rumbles from the crowd, seemingly at the Reds’ slow, methodical build-up. That was clearly filtered through to the players.

“Yeah, I sensed that as well,” said Van Dijk, speaking to reporters after the Leeds stalemate.

He also rejected the suggestion that Liverpool should simply have played quicker. “It's very easy to say when you play against a team that will play with 5-4-1 or 5-3-2, that you have to play it quicker.

Van Dijk said he could sense the frustration among Liverpool fans(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

“Sometimes you have to drag them to one side and then obviously speed up. But our last part of the game tonight wasn't good enough.

“I think against Wolves the first half, I think we showed very much how good we can be, but today it wasn't meant to be.

“Obviously, at times when teams are sitting in, you have to be patient. I know that's not the nicest thing to see, but we can also sit back and try to play on the counter constantly, but that's obviously not who we are either.

“I sensed the frustration [from the fans] as well. I think that frustration comes from the fact that we dropped two points tonight and that's something we didn't want.

Slot also admitted to being disappointed by Liverpool's dropped points against Leeds(Image: Getty Images)

“This is definitely not an attack on the fans,” Van Dijk added. “The fans can feel how they feel, but we as players want to win the game as well. We're not going out there and try to pass the ball from left to right to just keep the ball.

“We want to do everything in our power to win a game as well. I've been very fortunate to experience so many nights, or so many afternoons, or early kick-offs where the fans gave us the extra lift.

“Obviously, when you drop points against Leeds like we did today, that is frustrating, but we need the fans in order to keep pushing us forward like we always have been and I don't have any doubts that that will be the case. We'll see them again in London for the full support of course.”